Asphalt milling is the process of removing at least part of the surface of a paved street or other paved surface. This process serves a few different purposes. One function of milling is to remove irregularities from the road surface prior to repaving. The removed material is called RAP (Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement.) This is usually recycled in the form of aggregate into the asphalt hot mix that is applied as new pavement. Milling removes anywhere from just enough material to level and smooth the surface to a complete full depth pavement removal. The primary equipment used in road construction milling is the Milling Machine-which may also be commonly called a Cold Planer or Roto-Mill.
Sweeping behind an asphalt roto-mill is the hardest job of all for any sweeper or sweeper operator. The equipment has to be extraordinarily heavy duty and in top notch serviceable condition, and the operator must have a very high degree of knowledge, experience and competence.
The most experienced milling companies typically won’t even consider maintaining a fleet of sweeping vehicles in addition to their milling equipment mostly because of the added costs of maintaining late model sweeping vehicles and keeping backup units available to keep each job running. Consistent overall performance is the key. Our well maintained fleet of heavy duty street sweepers can absolutely do the job, every time. Reputable paving companies associate with Atlantic Sweeping to make sure their projects have a lower chance of equipment or operator issues causing job slowdowns.
It is critical that an experienced operator keep track of what the roto-mill is doing throughout the milling process. Without a high level of experience and competence in milling sweeping, an inexperienced operator can create trouble for the entire crew on a paving job. It is vitally important that a sweeper operator communicate with the milling crew as to how the particular milling operation is being managed. An experienced operator will always listen carefully and follow all guidelines.
Milling sweeping equipment has to be extremely rugged and in very good condition. The best practice is using a high dump sweeper for ease of material transfer directly to dump trucks. It must be an ultra heavy duty high dump sweeper-because not every sweeper is up to the task of this kind of work. This is especially true of single engine machines. These have a hard time handling milling jobs because the milled pavement material is so heavy.
Milling is an extremely heavy duty application for a sweeper and especially on highway jobs where the paver is immediately following the milling process. At Atlantic Sweeping, we provide highly trained and efficient sweeping operators and well maintained power sweeping equipment which will keep your milling project on time and on budget. On a road paving job, there’s really no better option other than hiring Atlantic Sweeping. This way, you can focus on the milling tasks and trust that our heavy duty sweeping equipment and experienced operators are going to keep up with the relentless pace. Reduce your stress levels by contacting Atlantic Sweeping today.
Call today to find out how we can help you meet your next milling project deadlines.
