You’d be forgiven for assuming that at least since the first motor graders were introduced, not much has changed in the fields of gravel road construction and maintenance.
In fact, there have been numerous developments in the methods used to grade gravel roads, along with clever adaptations to the equipment used for the job.
Changing requirements for gravel roads
Today, gravel roads typically have to support larger volumes of traffic than in the past. It’s also more common for these roads to be used by heavy vehicles.
Gravel roads require far more frequent maintenance than paved roads, especially after wet spells and when used by high traffic volumes or heavy commercial vehicles.
Gravel road resurfacing can disrupt traffic and pose safety risks for road users. Accordingly, it makes sense to focus on effective road maintenance. Routine maintenance helps keep gravel roads in good condition, maximising the time before they have to be resurfaced.
Grading equipment innovations and adaptations
A number of motor grader attachments and other tools allow for faster, easier gravel road maintenance and rehabilitation.
Windrow pulverisers
Windrow pulverisers assist with the reshaping of gravel roads – making the process easier, safer, and faster.
Recovered gravel, either from a high shoulder or a ditch, often contains clumps of sod, which need to be removed before the gravel can be reused. Windrow pulverisers quickly and effectively remove these clumps, eliminating the need for the material to be moved back and forth multiple times to break up the sod.
Grader-mounted rollers
Grade-mounted rollers can be used in maintenance and reshaping operations, where there’s sufficient space for manoeuvring the equipment.
Grader-mounted rollers are effective in combined blading and compaction operations. In the presence of adequate moisture, they can create a denser, tighter and smoother road surface, which will be easier to maintain.
Electronic slope controls
Electronic slope controls can be used to create uniform thickness and get the correct profile on a finished road surface. Although this technology can’t be used in every maintenance situation, it’s useful for major gravel road reshaping operations on long, straight sections of road, with fairly consistent width.
Shouldering discs
Shoulder discs for graders and tractors ease the process of eliminating high shoulders along the edges of gravel roads by mulching up the sod and vegetation to reduce the size of the windrows of recovered material pulled back onto the road.
Tractor-mounted or towed blading devices
Although these blades can’t perform the same tasks as a motor grader, they’re effective in making minor changes to the road surface – for example, filling small potholes. These devices are particularly useful in wet conditions, where a motor grader may be too heavy to work without sinking into the ground.
Tractor-mounted crushers
In many instances, new roads are created simply by shaping the native soil. However, the ground may include large rocks. Tractor-mounted crushers can be used on-site to crush large rocks into uniform material that can be used as surfacing.
Carbide-tipped cutting edges
Various types of carbide-tipped attachments have been adapted for use with motor graders. Carbide-tipped bits for use on grader moldboards can cut out a washboard area or loosen hard surface material more easily than a conventional cutting edge. Carbide-tipped bits are also capable of mixing material as it’s cut from the road.
Carbide-insert cutting edges
Carbide-insert cutting edges are extremely resistant to wear and abrasion, and help reduce wear over time. Using these cutting edges can increase productivity, reduce machine downtime and lower equipment maintenance costs.
At KH Plant, we specialise in reconditioning Caterpillar motor graders, restoring them to as-new condition. Contact us for more information or a quotation.
