Road maintenance is an important process for any major city, regional town or rural community. Damaged or deteriorated roads are a big risk to motorists and their vehicles.
Proper and regular maintenance is required to ensure that all road users are safe, and further issues are avoided. If you’ve ever wondered what road maintenance is and how it works, use this easy guide to learn today.
What is road maintenance?
Road maintenance is a scheduled plan of work to ensure that roadways are maintained to a certain standard for road users. Maintenance is scheduled and designed to help avoid road dilapidation. This dilapidation can take the form of cracks, erosion and in certain circumstances, potholes. All of the issues represent a significant risk to road users and their vehicles. Eroding asphalt, the material most roads are made of, can puncture tyres, cause a loss of grip or even send debris into the air, causing potential cracks in windshields.
Road maintenance is done as either scheduled work or as emergency work and is carried out by qualified individuals. As a public service, road maintenance is critical to the safety of all road users and passengers in vehicles. Road maintenance takes on many forms, from filling potholes to resurfacing and right through to repairing damaged signs, all maintenance is important to help avoid dangers on the road.
How does road maintenance work?
Generally speaking, road maintenance is carried out by a team of individuals and requires a few key activities to be executed smoothly. These key activities are as follows:
1. Traffic control
Road maintenance often requires parts of or entire roads to be closed in order to complete the maintenance work. Traffic controllers are crucial to the execution of road maintenance as they follow detailed plans for redirecting traffic and ensure motorists are aware of reduced speed limits. Reducing the speed limit through roadworks is essential to the safety of the individuals completing the work. Redirecting traffic can be necessary to help ensure that road maintenance can be done as quickly as possible.
2. Detailed plans
Road maintenance doesn’t just happen, it takes detailed planning and project management to execute successfully. Before commencing any road maintenance, teams will have a clear plan of how to correct the issues, the materials required and the time it will take to complete the work. The latter will be used to help motorists understand the impact of any likely redirections or potential delays. The plans being followed are designed to ensure the maintenance is carried out in a way that is less intrusive and very safe for everyone involved. These plans will not only map the road being worked on but the surrounding roads and any potential impact on these routes as well.
3. Proactive works
Not all road maintenance will be completed as a result of identified issues. Oftentimes, road maintenance is carried out to help avoid major issues down the track, especially if the road is being impacted by climate. Even if a roadway seems perfectly fine, works like resurfacing may be required to help maintain the road for even longer. The alternative may be issues that would severely disrupt a road, so proactive management of the maintenance of these roads is critical. These proactive works are a very important part of road maintenance works, helping to keep roads healthy for longer periods of time.
4. Assistance from the public
Getting information about hazards or issues with a road is a critical part of how road maintenance works. Not all issues can be planned for or avoided, the public plays a big part in identifying when these scenarios come to fruition. Letting road maintenance companies, the council or local government know about road issues is very important. These tips help issues get fixed sooner and avoid any potential serious outcomes as a result.
Road maintenance is such an important part of maintaining our roads and helping to keep motorists, pedestrians and passengers safe. Small holes, cracks or even damaged signs may not seem all that dangerous, but they can lead to very dangerous outcomes. Road maintenance is an integral part of keeping everyone safe and the individuals who complete the maintenance work have extensive experience in doing so. Following keep planning, and safety processes and helping ensure a smooth flow of traffic, road maintenance teams keep you moving freely on the roads.
