


Road Traffic Controller
Related Jobs or Working
with these Jobs
 
Road workers compact, level and spread materials to form roads and
footpaths, perform minor repairs to damaged surfaces, maintain bridges and
repair signs and guideposts. Road workers also undertake general roadside
maintenance such as grass cutting, weed control and litter collection.
Civil
construction workers compact, level and spread materials to form roads and
footpaths, perform minor repairs to damaged surfaces, maintain bridges, and
repair signs and guideposts.
Road workers pave and maintain roads and other
surfaces such as runways, parking areas and pathways. They remove topsoil
from road areas, lay bitumen and concrete, apply gravel, stone chips or
asphalt to tar surfaces, dig up road surfaces to lay cables or pipes, and
compact and smooth road surfaces. They also direct traffic through
construction areas, clean work areas, and load and unload equipment into and
out of vehicles. They also construct and dismantle safety barricades around
work sites.
Civil construction workers may work as members
of a small roadwork team.
ANZSCO ID: 8215
Alternative names: Civil Construction Worker,
Road Infrastructure Worker, Paving & Surfacing
Labourer,
Specialisations:
With experience and sometimes further training, it is possible to progress
to more specialised tasks and/or supervisory positions.
- Road construction: mix and lay compacting gravel,
and operate paving machines to spread stone chips, gravel or asphalt on road
surfaces to construct sealed roads.
-
Road maintenance: repair and replace roadside furniture, patch
potholes, as well as maintain drains and sealed roads.
-
Bridge and construction maintenance: the installation, construction
and maintenance of concrete bridges.
-
Pipe laying: the installation of pipe lines for water, sewerage or
storm water.
Knowledge, skills and attributes
- enjoy practical and outdoor work
- physically fit
- good hand-eye coordination
- able to work as part of a team.

(Source:
The Times UK)
Duties and Tasks
Road workers may perform the following tasks:
- clear scrub, strip grass and remove topsoil
- assist with preparation for laying drains
- spread gravel to form the road base
- operate tank-truck distributor or hose to spray tar, road oils and
emulsions on the road before surfacing
- operate paving machines or spread stone chips, gravel or asphalt
onto road surfaces
- erect and dismantle barricades and construction signs
- direct traffic through the construction area
- sweeping paving bases prior to laying asphalt and other surfaces
- sprinkling and brushing hot and cold-mix asphalt over surfaces to be
paved and repaired to bond asphalt toppings to bases
- operating tank-truck distributors and hoses to spray tar and road
oils and emulsions on graded surfaces prior to paving
- tripping tail-gate levers to discharge hot-mix asphalt into paving
machines, and spreading stone chips, gravel and cold-mix asphalt onto
road surfaces
- shovelling asphalt mix into areas inaccessible to paving machines,
and compacting mix using rakes and hand tampers
- cutting and trimming damaged surfaces using jack-hammers and
softening edges of areas to be repaired with blowtorches
- erecting and dismantling barricades
- loading and unloading equipment, and cleaning work sites
- may direct traffic
- load and unload equipment and clean the worksite
- calculate the quantities for ordering materials
- landscape surrounding areas with trees and grass seed.

Road Workers - Tiger Brennan
Drive Darwin
(Source:
ABC)
Working conditions
Road workers may work as members of a small roadwork team.
Road workers work on roads, highways, bridges and other structures designed
for vehicular traffic, as well as on the sites of new roads or pathways.
They are required to work in most weather conditions. They usually work
regular hours, but may be required to work at night to reduce the impact on
traffic conditions. They are often required to travel locally to building
sites, and may work on a different site every day. Conditions may be
hazardous and road workers are often required to work within strict safety
guidelines.
Tools and technologies
Road workers use a range of specialist roadworking equipment such as
rollers, paving machines and drills, as well as shovels, rakes and
specialised surveying equipment. They work with materials such as bitumen,
concrete and gravel, and use heavy vehicles such as trucks, graders and
bulldozers. They are usually required to wear high-visibility clothing and
safety equipment such as earmuffs, goggles, hard-hats and work boots.
Education and training/entrance requirements
You can work as a Road Worker without formal
qualifications. However, entry into this
occupation may be improved by obtaining a qualification in civil
construction or a related area. To become a civil construction worker you
usually have to complete a traineeship in Civil Construction, Bituminous
Surfacing or Civil Foundations.
The Certificate II in Civil Construction is offered at TAFE colleges and
other registered training organisations throughout Australia. You can also
undertake a traineeship in bituminous surfacing (level 2 or level 3), civil
construction (level 2 or level 3), road construction and maintenance (level
3), road marking (level 3) or traffic management (level 3). The traineeships
usually take 12 to 24 months to complete. The civil construction (level 2)
traineeship is available as a school-based traineeship.
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