Road Plates (Central NJ)

A road plate is a steel plate that serves the purpose of temporarily covering a broken road in which cars or pedestrians need to access. Their size can range from 5 feet to more than 20 feet and even smaller ones. This is helpful in many areas such as construction areas that create uneven roads that are dangerous to travel on without any heavy-duty temporary covering. The plates are used to allow cars to travel across the road when construction is not actively happening. The plates are in direct contact with the pavement and are fixed into place to ensure the safety of the drivers who utilize the roads near construction sites. To secure the plate, the road plate is pinned (a process of pushing pins into the pavement at the edges of the plate to prevent the road plate from moving), secured with asphalt wedges, or recessed into the pavement (a process in which a hole is cut out of the ground where the plate will go that is exactly the size of the plate).

Guidelines for Using Road Plates

Important safety measures are required for the safe use of road plates to ensure that they are properly installed, properly skid-resistant, and properly marked to reduce hazards for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and bicycles. If multiple steel plates are used as road plates during construction, it is important that they are welded together at their longitudinal seams to make sure that they do not detach from one another which would be very dangerous. Anti-Skid coating is often applied to plates that will be used as road plates so they are less slippery. The amount of anti-skid coating used is usually dictated by federal, state, or local requirements. Additionally, a material that increases friction may be used as another safety measure--especially for motorcyclists and bicyclists. When the steel plate is installed and becomes a road plate, a tapered ramp is used to connect the roadway with the edges of the steel plate. It is usually made of asphalt and other filler substances (called bitumastic material) and it is a safety measure to make sure the plate is not too abrupt in the middle of the road which could be hazardous. It is necessary that the road plate extend beyond the gravel of the construction site onto solid ground. Usually, this means that the plate extends beyond a foot in order to meet that requirement. If needed to counteract the uneven roadways, the plates must be countersunk. The edges must be marked so that the plate is visible for drivers and cyclists. There should also be proper signs to indicate to drivers that they are approaching a road plate like “road plate ahead,” “bump,” or “caution: road plate ahead.” If road plates are used during the winter, it is important to notify local authorities of where they are. This is to prevent accidents because the snow may reduce visibility for drivers and pedestrians. If authorities are warned in advance, they will be more cautious and inform drivers in advance. Lastly, it is important that the area of construction including the roadway and plate be reevaluated throughout the day and at the end of each day to ensure safety for everyone.

What are the uses of Road Plates?

Road plates are used as temporary covering in areas of construction including excavations and broken roads. Road plates are especially useful in bridge excavations in which material is removed in order to build a bridge. This requires a lot of construction and road plates are used to allow access to the road throughout times of construction. Additionally, road plates are used to open the carriageway in times of high traffic such as traffic sensitive periods of time, at night, or on weekends. In addition to construction, road plates may also be used to temporarily cover a pothole (which forms over time from a combination of weather and traffic) before it is fixed by the local authority. Sometimes, this process takes a while, so road plates are helpful to have.

Advantages of using road plates

Road plates are very useful because they allow roads to stay open during road upgrades, maintenance, public works, or any other type of construction that is needed. Often, these construction periods can last a long time, so during times in which there isn’t active construction, the road plates are used to allow vehicles to use the road. They are a great alternative solution to closing the road down in order for construction to occur. This is particularly useful for times in which there is a lot of traffic and closing the road would increase traffic buildup significantly. Road plates are able to prevent this buildup.

How to Buy Road Plates in Central New Jersey

J.M. Ahle offers high quality road plates in a variety of sizes and shapes for various uses in the Central New Jersey area. If you would like to buy them or have some questions, please contact us at (732) 238-1700.