The road building and highway maintenance industries are responsible for building, repairing, and maintaining Alberta’s roads. They also provide winter safety services such as plowing roads, removing obstacles from the road, and spreading salt and other chemicals to remove ice. Road building and highway maintenance are separate sectors, but we’ve combined them here because the skills required are often transferrable and some employers perform both types of work. These sectors also overlap with road building and general construction.

Drivers in these sectors will operate a variety of different trucks and heavy off-road equipment. They may also take part in various other activities, such as performing vehicle maintenance and acting as a labourer.

  • Seasonality

    Road building is seasonal with the busiest period taking place in the summer. Highway and road maintenance is nonseasonal, as it involves ensuring roadways are passable at all times of the year and responding to calls related to moving obstacles from the road. However, there are seasonal elements, such as snowplowing in winter.

Equipment and Tasks

Since many different activities are conducted in these sectors, drivers can expect to see a variety of trucks, auxiliary equipment, and heavy equipment.

  • Equipment

    Drivers may encounter a range of heavy equipment like tractors, graders, excavators, and packers, as well as the tractor-trailers needed to haul this equipment between work sites. Dump trucks and dump trailers are also used for hauling aggregate materials like gravel. Snow plows are likely to be seen in the winter, along with salt-spreading trucks.

  • Tasks

    Drivers can expect to perform common driving-specific tasks like city and highway driving, pre-and post-trip vehicle inspections, cargo securement, and customer service-related responsibilities. Drivers also often operate heavy equipment to participate in highway construction and road maintenance activities. There is also often a labour component to this sector.

Lifestyle in the Industry

Drivers in highway construction and road maintenance often enjoy being closer to home, although long shifts are common. Road building often involves project work; the project’s location can dramatically impact the lifestyle of a driver.

  • Work Shifts

    Shifts are generally around 12 hours in length and typically start in the early morning. During busy times, work may take place six or seven days a week. This may involve night work as well. Highway maintenance drivers work around the clock to keep roadways safe, especially in the winter.

  • Physical Demands

    Careers in these sectors are physically demanding. There’s a lot of climbing in and out of equipment, carrying heavy items like chains, and assisting as a labourer when not driving.

  • Work/Life Balance

    Drivers are typically home every night when the project is close to their home. However, highway projects farther from home may require long periods away.

  • Predictability

    Road building work is fairly predictable, as jobs are booked ahead of time. Highway and road maintenance drivers who respond to snowstorms and similar events will see less predictability, but work shifts are typically known in advance.

  • On-Call

    On-call work isn’t a significant part of careers in this sector.

Getting Started

Larger road construction companies have online application systems, but smaller employers may have to be researched and contacted directly. Once a driver has passed the pre-hire safety checks and is hired, they’ll be orientated by the company and can expect a period of supervision. They can also expect supervision on all new types of equipment they’re asked to operate.

Since road building and highway maintenance involve many different activities beyond driving, individuals can start in these sectors as labourers or heavy equipment operators. Then, they can signal their interest in driving to their employer.

  • Mandatory
    Requirements

    The right licence class is needed. While a Class 1 licence is not always required, it’s the best licence class for these sectors. Drug and alcohol testing is common, and many employers will require drivers to provide some of their own personal protective equipment, like safety boots.

  • Preferred Skills &
    Previous Experience

    Previous heavy equipment experience is an asset, along with a background in construction or farming. Class 3 driving experience is helpful for those working their way up to tractor-trailers.

Red Flags

There are many hazards present in these sectors. Road building and highway construction sites are busy, ever-changing places. Highway maintenance workers often drive in the most challenging conditions, such as during snowstorms, when other drivers are advised to stay off the roads. Those interested in starting a career as a construction driver should be on the lookout for these potential red flags (aka signs that an employer may not be operating safely):

  • Equipment and vehicles that are in poor condition.
  • Being pressured to become an owner-operator early into one’s career or any other signs of employee misclassification.
  • A lack of safety training and supervision, especially when new.
  • No training in commercial driving rules, like hours of service and vehicle inspections, and being asked to record work time as off-duty time to maximize driving hours.
  • A lack of training on the hazards present at different sites (i.e., always getting the same, vague safety orientation despite sites differing significantly).
  • A lack of ongoing driver training, especially seasonal refresher training for highway maintenance drivers.
Quick Facts:
  • Road building specifically refers to the construction of new roadways and the repaving of existing roads.
  • Highway maintenance may be used to describe repaving, but it also describes cleaning roads in winter and maintaining infrastructure year-round.
  • Drivers in these sectors often have opportunities to learn to operate a variety of vehicles and heavy equipment.
  • Some employers in these sectors are seasonal, so it can be challenging to find steady work throughout the year.

More Help

Are you interested in learning more about working safely in transportation? Check out our Resources page for insights from industry experts and organizations. We’ve taken great care to present information relevant to those interested in truck and bus driving careers, those already employed in trucking or busing, and employers navigating labour challenges.

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Contact Information

If you have questions or want to learn more about the content of this website, please contact the Alberta Motor Transport Association (AMTA). AMTA employs experts in trucking and busing across Alberta. We would be happy to help you further.

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