Spring/summer works

[20/80]

Well I would like to start of with how much I enjoyed the winter works thread, lot's of pics and good reading, hoping we can continue with this Spring/Summer thread, I have one heck of a pile of work to do to my roads with the soft mild winter, pretty much a wrap for Winter works, will be starting to remove my wing and tower hopefully next week.

 

[20/80]

Hoping we get lots pics in this thread, love hearing about what your working on and your projects, any of the new operators have any questions there's lots of experience on this forum that will point you in the right direction, so guy's bring it on!!!!

 

[ovrszd]

Meeting with a MODOT (Missouri Department of Transportation) right of way inspector today. Have four sites where my Township roads meet State Hiways that need work. It's MODOT's responsibility to maintain the culverts if needed and the drainage area within their right of way.

MODOT doesn't support my area very well. We are a long distance from the State Capital and sparsely populated. So to get anything done the Township volunteers employee (me) hours and grader hours. All we ask is that MODOT buy the culverts if needed.

Site #1 doesn't have a culvert but needs one added. A large farmer is building a grain bin setup a half mile from the hiway on one of my roads. They will be going in/out a lot with semis. The intersection needs widened along with adding the culvert.

Site #2 doesn't have a culvert and doesn't need one. The intersection needs widened.

Site #3 has a culvert that's rotted out. It also needs lengthened and widen the intersection.

Site #4 has a culvert that's been buried for 10 years at least. Too short, ends collapsed from driving over. Stands water against my road at the intersection.

I don't expect any serious resistance. I've not worked with this inspector before but he seems eager to help.

As MODOT has gotten poorer, they have gotten easier to work with. 25 years ago I added an intersection to a hiway. Called the inspector, he did a site visit, approved the project and said he'd mail me a permit to post onsite. That was on Wednesday. On Friday the dozer showed up and we started working. I was clearing the roadbank of sod when the inspector came driving by real slow. He stopped in the middle of the hiway and got out. I got out of the grader and approached him. He calmly said "Richard did you receive the permit in the mail?" I said no I had not. He calmly said "Richard stay off my right of way until you have that permit." I said yes sir I will. He left. I went back to work.

4 years ago I was again working against MODOT. I called for an inspector, Steve Tarr. Great guy. We discussed the work I was doing and he blessed it all. He was walking toward his car and I said, Steve if someone stops and asks to see my permit what do I tell them. He pulled a business card out of his shirt pocket and handed it to me saying "If some A hole wants to see a permit have them call me."

 

[20/80]

Its a major to do to get anything done in regards to putting in a new intersection or expanding a original one, so many players in the process that everything gets constipated it seems with red tape, enviro guys get involved with the DNR and your shut down because they found frog eggs in the ditch or something to that regards, its crazy, getting a culvert put in is not a problem as long as its a old one not working, we have box culverts that were put in back in the 30's that need replacing but as long as a few drops of water is still flowing it stays, I like how the new Trans Canada highway project that is going on here that is in the works has these Turtle crossing built in to the road every 6-10 miles apart for about 80 grand a piece to build , its amazing how the turtles know how to go there to use them to cross the road, lol

 

[ovrszd]

My meeting went as expected.

Site #1, no existing culvert, MODOT will let me put one in and improve the intersection, but they won't buy anything.....

Site #2, MODOT will let me widen the intersection if I add 10ft of 24" culvert to theirs that goes under the hiway. So I can maintain the necessary 3 to 1 slope, which is wayyyyyy steeper than that now.....

Site #3, MODOT will buy the replacement culvert at the existing length. They have no problem with me extending the culvert and widening the intersection, but they won't pay for that part.....

Site #4, MODOT questions whether there was ever a culvert there, sure can't see any evidence of one, but logic says there is one. MODOT will purchase a long culvert and let me widen the intersection.

So,,, bout what I expected.... No frog eggs found though.....

 

[20/80]

LOL, Your lucky, are enviro guy's are insane, You would blow a gasket if your enviro guy's were the same as here, Yeah everything is a go as long as they don't have to pay, LOL

 

[20/80]

Well guy's that's a wrap for winter works, back on regular day shift Monday to Friday, glad to see this winter behind us, the department will have to pay now to get us out at night for the next few weeks till the weather settles down, the removal of plow gear starts tomorrow for my grader, glad to have it off.

 

[cuttin edge]

Its a major to do to get anything done in regards to putting in a new intersection or expanding a original one, so many players in the process that everything gets constipated it seems with red tape, enviro guys get involved with the DNR and your shut down because they found frog eggs in the ditch or something to that regards, its crazy, getting a culvert put in is not a problem as long as its a old one not working, we have box culverts that were put in back in the 30's that need replacing but as long as a few drops of water is still flowing it stays, I like how the new Trans Canada highway project that is going on here that is in the works has these Turtle crossing built in to the road every 6-10 miles apart for about 80 grand a piece to build , its amazing how the turtles know how to go there to use them to cross the road, lol

The old cedar box culverts here are still in good shape. Kouchibouguac National park has the turtle crossings. They are like an open top culvert with barriers all along the ditch to direct them to the pipe

 

[ovrszd]

Well guy's that's a wrap for winter works, back on regular day shift Monday to Friday, glad to see this winter behind us, the department will have to pay now to get us out at night for the next few weeks till the weather settles down, the removal of plow gear starts tomorrow for my grader, glad to have it off.

I can only imagine the difference carrying all that weight/gear and not carrying it. Bad enough for me when I pick up the V Plow....

 

[ovrszd]

The old cedar box culverts here are still in good shape. Kouchibouguac National park has the turtle crossings. They are like an open top culvert with barriers all along the ditch to direct them to the pipe

You can lead a turtle to the crossing but you can't make him cross.

Sorry, couldn't help myself.

 

[cuttin edge]

I can only imagine the difference carrying all that weight/gear and not carrying it. Bad enough for me when I pick up the V Plow....

sometimes I wouldn't mind having a weighted push block up front. No dozer blade, and the extra weight would be nice for the front wheels. I'll be back on the little Mauldin starting in May. Private driveways. They tell me I have over 25,000 tonne of gravel to go down between a couple road jobs they have already snagged. One has a lot of overhead wires on it which is always nice. Still a lot of end dumps around, and they always seem to show up at the wires. I keep hoping the new guy will step into the big grader, but no luck thus far.

 

[20/80]

sometimes I wouldn't mind having a weighted push block up front. No dozer blade, and the extra weight would be nice for the front wheels. I'll be back on the little Mauldin starting in May. Private driveways. They tell me I have over 25,000 tonne of gravel to go down between a couple road jobs they have already snagged. One has a lot of overhead wires on it which is always nice. Still a lot of end dumps around, and they always seem to show up at the wires. I keep hoping the new guy will step into the big grader, but no luck thus far.

That's a fair amount of gravel to lay, we put about a ton a meter on a regular width road.

 

[cuttin edge]

One of these jobs is pulverizing and paving. I think it is around 15,000, and the other is a couple bridge approaches, so it would be a full 24 inches of gravel. 18 inches of 3 inch, and 6 of inch and a quarter. Probably includes shoulder material on the new build. The pulverizing job will be shouldered with rap. They'll mill enough for that before they pulverize.

That's a fair amount of gravel to lay, we put about a ton a meter on a regular width road

 

[20/80]

You can lead a turtle to the crossing but you can't make him cross.

Sorry, couldn't help myself.

LOL

 

[20/80]

Well we are getting some wintery mix weather tonight and into tomorrow, 4-8" of snow, ice pellets, freezing rain then rain, looks like I will be on a salt truck plow tonight.

 

[ovrszd]

That's a fair amount of gravel to lay, we put about a ton a meter on a regular width road.

I don't want your Winter weather. But I'd sure take your gravel allocation. I get 65 Ton per mile.

But then you are probably talking about building a road versus annual allocation?

 

[ovrszd]

Well we are getting some wintery mix weather tonight and into tomorrow, 4-8" of snow, ice pellets, freezing rain then rain, looks like I will be on a salt truck plow tonight.

That sucks.....

 

[20/80]

I don't want your Winter weather. But I'd sure take your gravel allocation. I get 65 Ton per mile.

But then you are probably talking about building a road versus annual allocation?

No, that's the amount we use when graveling a road, building a road would be alot more

 

[ovrszd]

No, that's the amount we use when graveling a road, building a road would be alot more

In my dreams.... I'll try to snap a pic of a freshly graveled road.... It's pretty meager.....

 

[cuttin edge]

In my dreams.... I'll try to snap a pic of a freshly graveled road.... It's pretty meager.....

How far do they have to go to get your gravel? New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are pretty much solid rock, so it's easy to come by. Most secondary roads in my area are chip sealed if not paved. There are a few short lanes that might not be, but they are mostly pit run, or sandstone, so there is never any graveling, just grading.