Skip to content

← Occupation guides

47-4051.00 · Task explorer

Highway Maintenance Workers: reported tasks and exploration worksheet

Maintain highways, municipal and rural roads, airport runways, and rights-of-way. Duties include patching broken or eroded pavement and repairing guard rails, highway markers, and snow fences. May also mow or clear brush from along road, or plow snow from roadway.

Use the skill profile to plan your next practice →

Read the task inventory

This source lists 19 tasks, including 12 marked Core and 7 marked Supplemental. Labels and dates are retained below. Employers can combine or divide these responsibilities differently; explore the task itself before assuming it belongs in every version of the role.

Task source dates: 07/2017.

Find a task in this inventory

19 tasks shown

Core · Task 4872 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Set out signs and cones around work areas to divert traffic.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 4871 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Flag motorists to warn them of obstacles or repair work ahead.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 18783 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Perform preventative maintenance on vehicles and heavy equipment.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 4875 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Drive trucks to transport crews and equipment to work sites.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 4878 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Erect, install, or repair guardrails, road shoulders, berms, highway markers, warning signals, and highway lighting, using hand tools and power tools.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 4880 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Clean and clear debris from culverts, catch basins, drop inlets, ditches, and other drain structures.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 18784 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Drive heavy equipment and vehicles with adjustable attachments to sweep debris from paved surfaces, mow grass and weeds, remove snow and ice, and spread salt and sand.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 4877 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Haul and spread sand, gravel, and clay to fill washouts and repair road shoulders.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 4876 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Inspect, clean, and repair drainage systems, bridges, tunnels, and other structures.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 4879 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Remove litter and debris from roadways, including debris from rock and mud slides.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 4874 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Dump, spread, and tamp asphalt, using pneumatic tampers, to repair joints and patch broken pavement.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Core · Task 4881 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Perform roadside landscaping work, such as clearing weeds and brush, and planting and trimming trees.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Supplemental · Task 4884 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Apply poisons along roadsides and in animal burrows to eliminate unwanted roadside vegetation and rodents.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Supplemental · Task 4885 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Measure and mark locations for installation of markers, using tape, string, or chalk.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Supplemental · Task 4882 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Paint traffic control lines and place pavement traffic messages, by hand or using machines.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Supplemental · Task 4886 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Apply oil to road surfaces, using sprayers.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Supplemental · Task 4883 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Inspect markers to verify accurate installation.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Supplemental · Task 4888 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Place and remove snow fences used to prevent the accumulation of drifting snow on highways.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Supplemental · Task 4887 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Blend compounds to form adhesive mixtures used for marker installation.

Add to my exploration shortlist

My example, evidence or question

Make the shortlist useful

Choose one to three activities that tell you something different about the work. Avoid selecting several ways of describing the same interest.
For each, write an example you can discuss or a question that would change your understanding of the role.
Keep source task IDs with your notes so you can return to the same description. Do not include private employer or customer information.

The exported worksheet distinguishes the reported task from your own notes. It supports exploration, not a hiring decision or a validated assessment.

Keep your worksheet

Download before leaving this page. Unsaved writing remains only in the page and is cleared on refresh. Notes and learning actions are not sent to a server. This guide describes an occupation and supports study planning; it does not provide clinical, legal or equipment-operating procedures.

Source and practice material

Occupational context uses the O*NET® 31.0 Database from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, under CC BY 4.0. View the occupation.

Skill Workbench selected and adapted the occupational information and added its own fictional cases, calculations, guidance and worksheets. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these additions. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.