LABOR SAVING INVENTION FOR ROAD MAINTENANCE

Sunset Hills, Missouri, has several miles of uncurbed asphalt pavement, creating a problem with lane drop-off caused by new overlays and stormwater erosion. The usual maintenance method was time consuming and messy. Street foreman Robert Riggs changed this process into an easy, safe, and less labor intensive process. He started with one of the city's two-ton dump trucks equipped with a two-way tipper spreader body. After removing the spinner used to spread deicing salt, he installed a drag box made from scrap snowplow blades. The frame for the drag box was bolted onto the truck frame for easy removal. The driver moves along the edge of the roadway facing traffic while discharging gravel into the drag box using the spreader controls in the cab. The drag box is pulled with one side riding on the edge of the pavement and the other side on the shoulder. The box has an adjustable gate at the back to control the amount of material spread and the weight of the box strikes off the material to a level just above the height of the pavement. A shoe welded to the bottom of the drag box helps it to slide along the ground and keeps it level. An employee walks along next to the spreader and communicates with the driver to control the amount of gravel discharged. The rear wheels of the truck provide initial compaction of the placed gravel. Final compaction is provided by a self-propelled one-ton walk-behind roller. When the project is finished, the box detaches easily and is hung on the front of the truck while the roller hooks to the tailgate for transport to the next street.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/1606878
• Corporate Authors:

  Public Works Journal Corporation

  200 South Broad Street
  Ridgewood, NJ  United States  07451
• Authors:
  • Shields Jr, R J
• Publication Date: 1990-10

Media Info

• Features: Photos;
• Pagination: p. 55
• Serial:
  • Public Works
  • Volume: 121
  • Issue Number: 11
  • Publisher: Hanley Wood
  • ISSN: 0033-3840
  • Serial URL: http://www.pwmag.com

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Asphalt pavements; Cost effectiveness; Dropoffs (Pavements); Highway maintenance; Maintenance equipment; Productivity
• Uncontrolled Terms: Pavement/shoulder drop-off; Time savings
• Old TRIS Terms: Street maintenance
• Subject Areas: Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Vehicles and Equipment; I61: Equipment and Maintenance Methods;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00600594
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Oct 31 2000 12:00AM