Highway Maintenance Workers

Wages
In 2021, the average annual wage in Alabama was $31,460 with most people making between $22,720 and $43,340.
Wages by Industry
  • Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction $36,210.00
Education Required
These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
Common Majors
  • Construction/Heavy Equipment/Earthmoving Equipment Operation
  • Flagging and Traffic Control
About the job

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.


What you'll do
    • Apply oil to road surfaces, using sprayers.
    • 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.
    • Erect, install, or repair guardrails, road shoulders, berms, highway markers, warning signals, and highway lighting, using hand tools and power tools.
    • Inspect markers to verify accurate installation.
    • Inspect, clean, and repair drainage systems, bridges, tunnels, and other structures.
    • Measure and mark locations for installation of markers, using tape, string, or chalk.
    • Paint traffic control lines and place pavement traffic messages, by hand or using machines.
    • Perform roadside landscaping work, such as clearing weeds and brush, and planting and trimming trees.
    • Place and remove snow fences used to prevent the accumulation of drifting snow on highways.
Things you need to know
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Abilities you'll need to have
    • Operation and Control - Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
    • Operation Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
    • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
    • 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.
    • Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
    • Troubleshooting - Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
    • Equipment Maintenance - Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.