Understanding the Most Practical Types of Road Maintenance
What are the different kinds of road maintenance?
- Emergency maintenance
- Reactive maintenance
- Precautionary maintenance
- Special repairs
Roads can be seen as one of the most important structures for civilization to prosper. They are the reason why towns and cities remain connected and are also responsible for how people are able to travel across long distances without too much trouble. Road rollers and other types of heavy machinery create roads and therefore make long-distance travel possible.
That being said, roads aren’t as permanent as people may think. In fact, roads are exposed to heavy wear every day—especially highways and high-traffic roads in urban areas. Though roads are developed to be as durable as can be, over time, they are susceptible to crack under the pressure that they are exposed to.
When these instances occur, maintenance with the right construction equipment is required. Interestingly enough, there are different types of standard procedure for each individual case. Take a look at these types of road maintenance and why they’re done:
Emergency Maintenance
As the name suggests, emergency maintenance is unplanned and very disruptive. This is often needed right after hurricanes, mudslides, or other natural calamities. This is also the case for any accidents that heavily damage the roads. For example, demolition projects not being planned correctly result in some debris falling on a nearby road by the highway. It can be so rough that it damaged the asphalt.
Emergency maintenance is often the most disruptive among the different types of road maintenance because broken roads need to be repaired immediately. Otherwise, the entire transportation network will be disrupted.
Again, these are never scheduled. However, once it’s needed, it’s always at the top of the priority list.
Reactive Maintenance
These kinds of maintenance are similar to the kind mentioned above, but the prioritization is less severe. They are basically road issues that need fixing but are not that urgent as of the moment. This doesn’t mean situations that fall under reactive maintenance should be ignored.
Often, reactive maintenance is concerned with potholes, open manholes, or missing or clogged drainage grates. All of which can’t go unattended. Potholes, in particular, are road problems that only form on roads that had existing issues before. Hazards such as small cracks, uneven subflooring, and haphazard asphalt laying can contribute to the making of potholes. In essence, potholes are very much preventable. But the reason why they get worse is that there is little to no maintenance conducted to prevent it.
Preventive Maintenance
In order to not go so far as to literally fix roads through reactive and emergency maintenance, it’s vital that preventative maintenance is done. With thorough planning and good foresight, this kind of maintenance can even mitigate potential emergencies.
Precisely planning out which roads should be inspected and fixed on a strict schedule will help keep them operational for even longer.
Preventative maintenance includes the act of regular inspections, road-life extension treatments, and implementation of strict timetables. All of these will keep roads and highways from crumbling under the intense wear-and-tear caused by vehicles moving along them.
With the right scheduling and methods such as crack sealing, chip sealing, and dig outs, you can extend the lives of road surfaces for five years or more.
Aside from extending road life, preventative maintenance is also the most frugal option out of the three. These would usually be composed of methods that would work on the small problems in order to prevent the bigger problems
It’s very important that you understand the current state of your roads through regular monitoring this way, it’ll be easier for you to make preventative efforts and ultimately save a lot of your funds!
Special Repairs
Often, roads have some special property of their own. For more unique problems that don’t necessarily disrupt transportation too much, they’ll be considered under special repairs. Think of projects of other companies that require roads to be drilled open such as water pipe repairs, underground electricity lines, and sewer maintenance. It’s possible that they’ll need certain sections of the road dugout in order to access their objective.
Once they’re done with their own work, the roads should be repaired as if nothing happened to it. Bear in mind that when special repairs are rushed, they often leave a distinguishing mark in the road. To some drivers and passengers, these can be quite annoying. However, as long as the repairs are safe and relatively unnoticeable, then it can be considered functional.
Key Takeaway
There’s a reason why road maintenance and construction are such a big deal. They’re the foundation of transportation. This importance spawned the need for construction equipment, such as the road roller, for that specific purpose. Without them, it would be extremely difficult and rough for a vehicle to pass through.
Road maintenance, in particular, is very important. Making sure that roads are fully-operational and without problems is crucial in keeping the daily commute comfortable for people all over the country.
