Roadbuilding machines

A bulldozer will first need to blast it's way through this junk, before returning with it's ripper down to clear a channel.
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While the theory of roadbuilding hasn’t changed much, the machinery to do it with certainly has. so we’ve put together a list of some of the newest advances in technology.

1 Bulldozers
Before a single groove can be cut into the ground, the surface needs to be clear of shrubbery, root balls, chunks of building waste and any other debris that you might find littering the site. For this, a bulldozer will first need to blast it’s way through this junk, before returning with it’s ripper down to clear a channel.

Of course, given that you are reading this magazine, you will be only too familiar with what a bulldozer does and if you need them on site you probably have a good idea of which model to choose.

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However, there are a number of interesting new technologies that have been launched over the last year, the most fascinating of which is the new electric drive Cat D7E. Unlike previous attempts at dual power tractors, it really does work with an electric motor all the time, with the energy needed generated by a diesel power pack, rather like a diesel/electric train.
 

Besides using a very precise amount of fuel, enabling site managers to plan for the amount of it needed on site. The electric motors are said to give a massive amount of torque – one reviewer found recently that the blade was if anything too small for the abundance of power on offer.

2 Pavers
The news on pavers is that of increased efficiency, rather than any radical change in the way that they work – after all, the concept of using a screw to provide an even flow has been around since the time of Archimedes.

You are most likely aware that pavers are specified by width, but you might not know that engineers are busy working on ways to bring vibration down to a minimum.

This isn’t just for the comfort of the operator, but also helps lay the screed evenly Special dampers help iron out the vibes on the new Dynapack SD series, for example, while this range also offers the choice of traditional gas burners to heat the screed or an electric furnace, including one with a ‘high compaction electric screed’ which is said to lower those greenhouse-warming CO2 emissions.

3 Electronics
Road building has always been an art where doing it properly the first time really pays off – anyone who had to try to navigate Dubai’s flooded industrial back roads during the recent rain will know what we mean.

As mentioned, the use of chains, stakes and string is still commonplace in the industry, as is the use of older theodolite equipment for surveying. Doing it this way requires a surveyor who knows exactly what his job is, and more specifically, needs extremely precise machine operators who can follow the stakes.

These days devices know as ‘total stations’ can accurately and automatically take measurements, with the aid of GPS positioning and laser levels for accuracy. The fact that it can take dozens of measurements and automatically relay them to a computer means that the surveyor gen get on with other things, wile still being able to have a most exact picture of what it happening on the cleared ground.

“The client can walk in at any time to ask how the project is progressing and we gan give them an accurate response” said Peter Silvius, a chief surveyor at Van Oord.