Handling Angry Resident Calls

January 8, 2019
Listed in Daily Tasks

A highway department's phone is most often the front line of customer service and, quite often, when someone calls their highway department, it is a complaint. They are angry at something we have done, something they believe we have done incorrectly, or something we didn't do, but they feel we should have. There are members of the public who are extremely passionate about our perceived failings and we, as civil servants, must be skilled in de-escalating the hostility and, if possible, ma…continue

Full Feature Set

December 27, 2018
Listed in Roadwurx Features

Roadwurx is always growing and evolving. Here is the current complete feature set for our highway department software. Reach out to us if you have an questions or ideas on how we can improve. Roads You have the ability to store all of the following data for every road you add to your database: Road name Length Width Ward Pavement Condition Index (PCI) Surface Condition Surface type (Asphalt, Chip Seal, Concrete, Gravel, Dirt, Other) Primary speed limit Fire district EMS district Water district, …continue

Why Roads Fail Prematurely

December 24, 2018
Listed in Road Maintenance

In a perfect world, pavement would last forever. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Before deciding on the proper repair, we need to understand why there may be premature distresses. Before discussing why roads fail prematurely, we need to start with, “What is a road?” What is a Road? A road allows transportation from point A to B in all weather and traffic conditions. While a basic definition, this does not answer the question of why we build roads. Essentially, we build roads to …continue

Kinds of Highway Drainage

December 24, 2018
Listed in Stormwater Management

Effective roadway drainage is one of the most important and often underestimated elements of road design, construction, and long term maintenance. Water is the single greatest enemy of pavement structures. When drainage systems fail or are poorly designed, water accelerates pavement deterioration, weakens subgrade soils, increases freeze thaw damage, and creates ongoing maintenance issues. Understanding the difference between roadway drainage and roadside drainage helps clarify how water should …continue

Understanding Water Movement

December 24, 2018
Listed in Stormwater Management

Hydrologic Cycle Rain and snow falling on the ground will run overland or soak into the ground. Eventually all the runoff will reach lakes, streams, or the ocean where the water will evaporate and start the cycle all over again Water Movement Around Roads When maintaining and building roads and streets, we must be concerned with water flowing around them. Figure 2 shows a conceptual drainage system and how watermay enter a road. Water may enter roadways through “cracks and surface defects&…continue