Highway Maintenance Workers

Description

Maintain highways, municipal and rural roads, airport runways, and rights-of-way. Duties include patching broken or eroded pavement, repairing guard rails, highway markers, and snow fences. May also mow or clear brush from along road or plow snow from roadway.

Tasks

Flag motorists to warn them of obstacles or repair work ahead.
Set out signs and cones around work areas to divert traffic.
Perform preventative maintenance on vehicles and heavy equipment.
Drive heavy equipment and vehicles with adjustable attachments to sweep debris from paved surfaces, mow grass and weeds, remove snow and ice, and spread salt and sand.
Drive trucks to transport crews and equipment to work sites.
Haul and spread sand, gravel, and clay to fill washouts and repair road shoulders.
Dump, spread, and tamp asphalt, using pneumatic tampers, to repair joints and patch broken pavement.
Clean and clear debris from culverts, catch basins, drop inlets, ditches, and other drain structures.
Remove litter and debris from roadways, including debris from rock and mud slides.
Erect, install, or repair guardrails, road shoulders, berms, highway markers, warning signals, and highway lighting, using hand tools and power tools.
Inspect, clean, and repair drainage systems, bridges, tunnels, and other structures.
Perform roadside landscaping work, such as clearing weeds and brush, and planting and trimming trees.
Inspect markers to verify accurate installation.
Paint traffic control lines and place pavement traffic messages, by hand or using machines.
Apply oil to road surfaces, using sprayers.
Measure and mark locations for installation of markers, using tape, string, or chalk.
Place and remove snow fences used to prevent the accumulation of drifting snow on highways.
Apply poisons along roadsides and in animal burrows to eliminate unwanted roadside vegetation and rodents.
Blend compounds to form adhesive mixtures used for marker installation.

Knowledge

Public Safety and Security: Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Education and Training: Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Customer and Personal Service: Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Building and Construction: Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Mechanical: Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Law and Government: Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

Skills

Operation Monitoring: Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Operation and Control: Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Troubleshooting: Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Equipment Maintenance: Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.

Abilities

Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.

Work Activities

Performing General Physical Activities: Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials.
Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment: Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or water craft.
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material: Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
Handling and Moving Objects: Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
Controlling Machines and Processes: Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment: Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles.
Getting Information: Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Work Context

Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets: How much does this job require wearing common protective or safety equipment such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hard hats or life jackets?
Face-to-Face Discussions: How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
In an Enclosed Vehicle or Equipment: How often does this job require working in a closed vehicle or equipment (e.g., car)?
Outdoors, Exposed to Weather: How often does this job require working outdoors, exposed to all weather conditions?
Exposed to Hazardous Equipment: How often does this job require exposure to hazardous equipment?
Work With Work Group or Team: How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?
Sounds, Noise Levels Are Distracting or Uncomfortable: How often does this job require working exposed to sounds and noise levels that are distracting or uncomfortable?
Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls: How much does this job require using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls?
Contact With Others: How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?
Responsible for Others' Health and Safety: How much responsibility is there for the health and safety of others in this job?

Interests

Realistic: Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Conventional: Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Investigative: Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Enterprising: Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
Social: Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
Artistic: Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Work Style

Self Control: Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Dependability: Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Cooperation: Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Leadership: Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
Concern for Others: Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Attention to Detail: Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Persistence: Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Independence: Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Achievement/Effort: Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Stress Tolerance: Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.

Work Values

Support: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Relationships: Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
Working Conditions: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Independence: Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Achievement: Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
Recognition: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.

Related Occupations

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Construction Laborers

Pipelayers

Fence Erectors

Lay Titles

Caltrans Equipment Operator

Caltrans Landscape Maintenance Worker

Equipment Operator (EO)

Heavy Equipment Operator

Highway Maintainer

Highway Maintenance Crew Worker

Highway Maintenance Technician

Highway Maintenance Worker

Highway Worker

Hot Oiler

Lane Marker Installer

Material Handler

Materials Handling Equipment Operator

Oil Spreader Operator

Patrolman

Road Builder

Road Maker

Road Mender

Road Oiler

Road Oiling Truck Driver

Road Patcher

Road Repairer

Road Sign Installer

Road Worker

Snow Plow Operator

Street Worker

Transportation Maintenance Operator

Transportation Maintenance Specialist (TMS)

Transportation Worker

Truck Driver

National Wages and Employment Info

Median Wages (2008):: $16.95 hourly, $35,260 annual.

Employment (2008):: 141,180 employees