While this report discusses Minnesota's use of the shoulder reclaimer, Vermont road crews are also using the tractor-mounted reclaimer described. Bob Niles of The Vermont Local Roads Program said local crews have found the reclaimer effective. Vermont counties are talking about buying a reclaimer together and sharing its use.

Gravel shoulders develop ridges and ruts that need to be removed and the gravel tends to get clogged with weeds and sod, and slide down slope, leaving a dangerous dropoff at the pavement edge. Repairing them can take lots of equipment and sometimes tons of new aggregate.

Doyle, Inc. of Minnesota can make the process easier and cheaper. Its tractor- mounted reclaimer is similar to an agricultural harrow disc. Pulled behind a standard mower tractor, the reclaimer cuts through sod, mixes the gravel with the fines below it, and throws the gravel one to two feet toward the pavement edge to fill the void there. A roller, or grader with roller, follows behind to pack the gravel into a smooth, tight surface.



"Fall is a good time to reclaim shoulders," says Bill Doyle of Doyle, Inc., Burnsville, Minn., who created the product. "You need moisture so the gravel packs properly." Spring is another good time for shoulder improvements. Mower tractors are available, there's moisture in the gravel, and the weeds have died off.

Shoulder Reclaimer

Using the reclaimer, crews in Minnesota were able to reclaim 48 miles of shoulder a day, the amount they did in three days using previous methods. According to Thomas Zimmerman of the Mn/DOT's Windom district, "In one operation the reclaimer saved Mn/DOT $2400 per mile compared to the previous method. We use it just about every time we go out and maintain shoulders."

The tractor mount reclaimer, called "The All American Disk," costs $4900 from Doyle, Inc. including installation and instruction in how to use it. There is also a similar product from a Canadian company which mounts on a motor grader ahead of the moldboard.

http://www.usroads.com/journals/p/rmj/9709/rm970904.htm


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