Will “Highway Maintenance Worker” be Replaced By Robots? 🤔

Job Description

Operate equipment used for applying concrete, asphalt, or other materials to road beds, parking lots, or airport runways and taxiways, or equipment used for tamping gravel, dirt, or other materials. Includes concrete and asphalt paving machine operators, form tampers, tamping machine operators, and stone spreader operators.

Job Details

• The SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code is 47-2071.00
• The Mean Annual Wage in the U.S. is $ 43,800.00
• The Mean Hourly Wage is $ 21.00
• Currently, there are 51,880 people on this job

☝️ Information based on the reference occupation “Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators”.

Also Known As…

• Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
• Truck Driver
• Screed Operator
• Roller Operator
• Paver Operator
• Operator
• Maintenance Equipment Operator (MEO)
• Heavy Equipment Operator
• Equipment Operator (EO)
• Asphalt Raker
• Asphalt Paver Operator
• Traveling Plant Operator
• Transportation Maintenance Worker
• Tamping Machine Operator
• Strike Off Machine Operator
• Stone Spreader Operator
• Steam Roller Operator
• Self-Propelled Hot-Mix Roller Operator
• Roller Machine Operator
• Roadway Technician
• Road Roller Operator
• Road Packer Operator
• Road Oiling Truck Driver
• Road Mixer Operator
• Road Grader
• Reinforcing Steel Machine Operator
• Paving Machine Operator
• Paving Foreman
• Mud Jack Operator
• Mechanical Spreader Operator
• Loader Operator
• Laydown Machine Operator
• Laborer
• Joint Machine Operator
• Joint Cleaning and Grooving Machine Operator
• Heater-Planer Operator
• Grade Foreman
• Form Tamper Operator
• Form Tamper
• Form Grader
• Excavation Laborer
• Curb Machine Operator
• Crew Team Member
• Concrete Paving Machine Operator
• Concrete Finishing Machine Operator
• Concrete Finisher
• Concrete and Asphalt Equipment Crew Member
• Blacktop-Paver Operator
• Black Top Spreader Machine Operator
• Black Top Roller
• Black Top Paver Operator
• Black Top Machine Operator
• Bituminous Paving Machine Operator
• Asphalt Tamping Machine Operator
• Asphalt Surface Heater Operator
• Asphalt Spreader Operator
• Asphalt Screed Operator
• Asphalt Roller Person
• Asphalt Roller Operator
• Asphalt Paving Superintendent
• Asphalt Paving Machine Operator
• Asphalt Paving Foreman
• Asphalt Paver
• Asphalt Distributor Tender
• Asphalt Distributor Operator

Tasks for “Highway Maintenance Worker”

• Install dies, cutters, and extensions to screeds onto machines, using hand tools.
• Drive and operate curbing machines to extrude concrete or asphalt curbing.
• Light burners or start heating units of machines, and regulate screed temperatures and asphalt flow rates.
• Operate machines that clean or cut expansion joints in concrete or asphalt and that rout out cracks in pavement.
• Shovel blacktop.
• Operate tamping machines or manually roll surfaces to compact earth fills, foundation forms, and finished road materials, according to grade specifications.
• Set up and tear down equipment.
• Fill tanks, hoppers, or machines with paving materials.
• Cut or break up pavement and drive guardrail posts, using machines equipped with interchangeable hammers.
• Control paving machines to push dump trucks and to maintain a constant flow of asphalt or other material into hoppers or screeds.
• Set up forms and lay out guidelines for curbs, according to written specifications, using string, spray paint, and concrete or water mixes.
• Coordinate truck dumping.
• Operate machines to spread, smooth, level, or steel-reinforce stone, concrete, or asphalt on road beds.
• Inspect, clean, maintain, and repair equipment, using mechanics' hand tools, or report malfunctions to supervisors.
• Observe distribution of paving material to adjust machine settings or material flow, and indicate low spots for workers to add material.
• Start machine, engage clutch, and push and move levers to guide machine along forms or guidelines and to control the operation of machine attachments.
• Operate oil distributors, loaders, chip spreaders, dump trucks, and snow plows.
• Control traffic.
• Place strips of material, such as cork, asphalt, or steel into joints, or place rolls of expansion-joint material on machines that automatically insert material.
• Drive machines onto truck trailers, and drive trucks to transport machines and material to and from job sites.

Related Technology & Tools

• Asphalt paving machines
• Vibratory rollers
• Automatic paving control systems
• Claw hammers
• Cold in-place recyclers
• Pneumatic paving breakers
• Dump trucks
• Pavement marking machines
• Asphalt mixing equipment
• Adjustable wrenches
• Robotic paving machines
• Paving finishing machines
• Laser levels
• Power extendable screeds
• Oil distributors
• Wheel loaders
• Compactors
• Vibrating concrete screeds
• Static rollers
• Windrow pickup machines
• Locking pliers
• Profiling equipment
• Pneumatic rollers
• String lines
• Motor graders
• Surveying tapes
• Asphalt rakes
• Snowplows
• Rubber-track asphalt pavers
• Two way radios
• Cold planers
• Transit levels
• Straightedges
• Asphalt distributor trucks
• Respirators
• Personal computers
• Chip spreaders
• Desktop computers
• Self-propelled material transfer devices
• Hot mix material transfer devices
• Asphalt heating equipment
• Flatbed truck trailers
• Road heater-planers
• Self-contained breathing apparatus
• Concrete saws
• Straight screwdrivers
• Slip form machines
• Concrete paving machines
• Manual rollers
• Jackhammers
• Milling machines
• Skid steer loaders
• Liquid asphalt storage equipment
• Rubber-tired asphalt pavers
• Tamping machines
• Rolling machines
• Nut drivers
• Paving curbing machines

• HCSS HeavyBid
• Word processing software
• Database software
• Spreadsheet software
• Microsoft Office
• Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D
• Time report software
• Email software
• Microsoft Excel