Highway Maintenance Workers
On the Job
Highway Maintenance Workers maintain highways, city and rural roads, and airport runways. They may patch pavement, repair guard rails, mow or clear brush from the road, or plow snow.
Physical Demands 
This career requires time standing, walking, or running.
Typical Work Tasks
People who work in this career often:
- Inspect completed work to ensure proper installation.
- Inspect industrial or commercial equipment to ensure proper operation.
- Drive trucks or truck-mounted equipment.
- Operate equipment or vehicles to clear construction sites or move materials.
- Operate road-surfacing equipment.
- Clean equipment or facilities.
- Compact materials to create level bases.
- Mix substances or compounds needed for work activities.
- Move construction or extraction materials to locations where they are needed.
- Pour materials into or on designated areas.
Typical Working Conditions
- Working outdoors exposed to weather.
- Wearing common protective or safety equipment such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, hard hats, or life jackets.
- Having face-to-face discussions.
- Exposure to contaminants (like gases or odors).
- Working with a group or team.
- Using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools, or controls.
- Exposure to hazardous equipment.
- Frequent decision-making.
- The importance of being accurate or exact.
- Responsibility for others' health and safety.
- Meeting strict deadlines.
- Being in situations in which conflicts arise.
This page includes information from the O*NET 24.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Source: You can learn about our data sources in the About Us section.
