Pavement maintenance
Ohio Widens Winding Roads Some of the most dangerous roadways in the country include bustling highways, high-speed interstates and tricky intersections. But unexpected danger lies beyond big city distractions and high-traffic roads, where the hazards relate to nature more than other vehicles. The roads of southeastern Ohio wind around the hills, resulting in sharp turns and corners. While an average vehicle doesn’t have an issue navigating them, the same cannot be said for large trucks and trailers. The turning radius on oversized, multiple-axle vehicles like oil and gas trucks doesn’t mix well with the curvy roads, causing them to frequently end up with their wheels in the ditch. Over time, this repetition causes dangerous drop-offs on the outside corner of the paved roads. To address the issue, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) constantly seeks new approaches and solutions to increase safety on the state’s roadways, with a goal to virtually eliminate crashes and injuries altogether. To combat the dangerous situation of the winding roads, ODOT first attempted to stabilize the shoulder with aggregate material. Using a road grader and a dump truck, crews laid the aggregate and pushed it off to the shoulder. From there, they compacted the aggregate, creating what seemed like an effective solution. This approach only worked temporarily and presented a maintenance issue. The lack of moisture in aggregate made it less than ideal for a permanent roadway. Crews found that after a heavy rain, the material washed away and exposed the original drop-offs. At least once a year, crews had to revisit the eroding berms and repeat the placement process. After testing several compaction methods, they opted to evolve to a new approach. With
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28 // march/april 2021
ODOT used the Road Widener FH-R skid steer attachment to disperse material from a dump truck to the material box, and then carefully onto the roadway. Using it resulted in increased efficiency, reduced labor and decreased costs. All photos courtesy of Road Widener LLC a stickier, denser substance, ODOT could create a longer-lasting solution for roadway maintenance.
ODOT SEES SAFE COMPACTION
Using asphalt might seem like a no-brainer, but the application involves a more intricate process. In Ohio, traditionally, widening the road with compacted material involves a fourstep process: 1. lay the material; 2. use a blade to move the material into place; 3. compact the material with the tires of a dump truck; and 4. broom, sweep, and clean up. Though it is a common process, ODOT was interested in limiting the number of steps in their approach. Their solution came from one of its own highway workers. “One of my highway technicians presented the idea of an offset road widening attachment,” said Rick Venham, transportation administrator of Washington County in Ohio’s District 10. “The guys who work on the projects and actually operate the equipment bring the best ideas and this case was no different.”
Road teams attach the equipment to a host machine, such as a skid steer, compact track loader, or grader to disperse gravel, asphalt and topsoil. Using it resulted in increased efficiency, reduced labor and decreased costs—benefits that stood out to ODOT. Because the attachment is smaller than traditional road widening products, it proved more cost effective and offered higher efficiency and maneuverability. This combination of benefits impacted ODOT’s decision-making process, as they were searching for a solution that offered ease of use with a low cost-per-ton ratio when laying asphalt.
ODOT SEES RESULTS
The attachment was also used during a recent Federal Highway Association (FHWA)-sponsored study. In early 2020, FHWA partnered with Ohio University (OU) on a research project to evaluate ODOT’s berm construction and repair process in Monroe County. Through two phases, OU evaluated and provided recommendations to improve the safety, productivity and cost-effectiveness of the process.
