Highways are reconstructed in four basic phases

Milling:
Milling involves using specialized heavy machines to grind off the top few inches of pavement material. This material is removed from the road to ensure that all areas of damaged or unstable asphalt are removed from the road, to provide a uniform surface for new pavement, and to allow us to re-pave the road at the same elevation, an important safety consideration that allows the road to shed rain water, maintains the elevation of guard rails, curbs and other safety structures.

Additionally, we recycle the asphalt material we remove from the road into new material. Modern asphalt production manufacturing techniques allow us to manufacture asphalt that is between 10% and 20% recycled.

How Milling Machines Work

Milling machines are very large pieces of equipment with large rotating drums lined with steel teeth. The teeth cut into the roadway surface, removing the desired layer of asphalt. The removed material is loaded onto trucks that transport the material back to our production plants for recycling. After the road is milled, the grooved surface is painted with line stripes and re-opened for traffic.

Paving:
Paving involves specialized heavy equipment that receives asphalt material from dump trucks supplying the work site from our production plants. The paving machine uniformly spreads the asphalt material across the roadway. The paving machine is followed by compactors (often called steam rollers) that compress the material while it cools, forming a hard, durable and safe driving surface. Once the asphalt has sufficiently cooled, the roadway is lined with temporary lane markings, and the roadway is opened to traffic.

Localized Repairs:
Localized repairs and improvements to the highway are conducted throughout the work project. These repairs and improvements may involve upgrades to curbs, entrance and exit ramp improvements, installation of traffic monitoring equipment, and repairs to guard rails and other highway features.

Final roadway painting:
After the road resurfacing has been completed, we paint the roadway to indicate line placement, breakdown lanes, etc. For most roadway users, this step looks like the end of the project, although some roadway improvements may still be occurring through the work zone.

Traffic control:
To make the road way safe for our workers and for traffic passing through work zones, we use very detailed traffic control procedures established by the federal government. Throughout the project you will see traffic control devices and equipment, ranging from advisory and warning signs to closed lane barriers.