A report was sent in to the Highway Commission on February 1 detailing a section of the rail that appeared to have been struck by a vehicle. While the rail itself had been pushed away from the roadway, a metal support post was bent in the opposite direction so that it protruded over the concrete shoulder.
Apparently the guardrail had been damaged for “several months,” and the protruding post posed a particular danger to pedestrians and cyclists.
FIXING GUARDRAIL
Most guardrail damage reports are issued by police reports and are fixed by the city or the work is subcontracted out to specialized guardrail repair companies.
A major issue is always the budget to repair these broken guardrails. Some need to be repaired, some become rusted and need to be replaced, and others just need to be removed and placed in a different location.
Since the work is normally being performed on the shoulder of the road, space is limited and traffic can back up for miles due to repair work. Normally, one lane is closed depending on the width of the shoulder.
TIMELY SOLUTION FOR REDUCED COST
As a result, “reduced time to repair” and “reduced cost“ are key elements keeping guardrails in good shape.
Recently a private guardrail repair company purchased a Toku America, Inc. TDX-40A demolition cutter. The purpose was to solve the two issues above: reduce repair time and reduce cost.
Up until now, this company had a crew of five people repairing guardrail along highway systems. Two operated hack saws to cut the damaged guardrail, two moved the debris, and one person operating the vehicle and monitored traffic.
DEMOLITION CUTTER
This job using the TDX-40A cutter was cut down to three people and only half the time was needed to perform the job. The versatility of the TDX-40A allowed the operator (either using a skid steer loader or a mini excavator) to cut the guardrail in one cut and also remove the damaged guardrail, placing it into the pickup truck, all in one process. In addition, the TDX-40A cutter was able to remove the rusted posts from the ground and load them in to the pickup truck as well.
All of this with one operator, one person in the pickup truck, and one person instructing the process—less cutting and removal labor at twice the speed of doing the same job manually with hack saws and people moving the debris.
Check out the YouTube video and see if this procedure would benefit your application:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4qhGg0xUjE. ■
About The Author:
David Nakamura is president of Toku America Inc., which also operates under the name Striker Hydraulic Breakers, located in Willoughby, Ohio. This organization primarily operates in the crushers, portable business/industry within the industrial and commercial machinery and computer equipment sector. For more information, visit www.toku-america.com.
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Modern Contractor Solutions, March 2015
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When the Guardrail is Down
