Skip to main content

VIDEO: Concrete paving - you’ve come a long way, baby!

It’s 1948. The grand scheme of creating an Interstate Highway system in the US is still barely a twinkle in President Dwight Eisenhower’s military eye. Highway construction improved greatly in the late 1950s and early 1960s as the American contractors became more mechanized and therefore efficient at laying roads faster and of better quality. But how did they build a road back then in 1948? Thanks to Encyclopaedia Britannica Films, we have a movie of just how a concrete highway was created. The constr
July 14, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
It’s 1948. The grand scheme of creating an Interstate Highway system in the US is still barely a twinkle in President Dwight Eisenhower’s military eye. Highway construction improved greatly in the late 1950s and early 1960s as the American contractors became more mechanized and therefore efficient at laying roads faster and of better quality.

But how did they build a road back then in 1948?

Thanks to Encyclopaedia Britannica Films, we have a movie of just how a concrete highway was created. The construction site looked more like a chain gang from a nearby prison that a professionally done infrastructure project.

Viewers just might be able to feel the sun’s heat as workers toil into the long day.

If this video piqued your curiosity about road building projects back then, %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal click here Visit youtube Page false https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neaoGclvips false false%> to see a 1951 film from the Bethlehem Steel Company. Things have apparently moved on since 1948 and steel is making inroads. At least this film is in colour.

Related Content

  • Ammann and Apollo announce Indian joint venture
    April 16, 2013
    Ammann Group, a leading manufacturer of asphalt mixing plants, compacting machines and asphalt pavers, and India-based construction equipment supplier Apollo Construction Equipment, have announced a joint venture for the Indian market. The announcement was made at a bauma press conference jointly hosted by Ammann CEO Hans-Christian Schneider and Anil Patel, chairman of Apollo Construction Equipment and vice chairman of the joint venture Ammann Apollo India Private Ltd. With three manufacturing facilities, a
  • Ammann and Apollo announce Indian joint venture
    January 6, 2017
    Ammann Group, a leading manufacturer of asphalt mixing plants, compacting machines and asphalt pavers, and India-based construction equipment supplier Apollo Construction Equipment, have announced a joint venture for the Indian market. The announcement was made at a bauma press conference jointly hosted by Ammann CEO Hans-Christian Schneider and Anil Patel, chairman of Apollo Construction Equipment and vice chairman of the joint venture Ammann Apollo India Private Ltd. With three manufacturing facilities, a
  • Leibherr unveiled new concrete machines
    January 6, 2017
    Liebherr unveiled an array of new machines for the concrete market at bauma China. New truck mixers were an important part of the display, with the novel semi-trailer model being one of the most innovative launches from the firm for this market segment. The mixer is said to offer a high impact resistance due to the design of its structure, which incorporates the use of high strength steels. Widening the truck frame, lowering the drum and semi-trailer all combine to improve stability and also reliability. Th
  • Leibherr unveiled new concrete machines
    November 30, 2012
    Liebherr unveiled an array of new machines for the concrete market at bauma China. New truck mixers were an important part of the display, with the novel semi-trailer model being one of the most innovative launches from the firm for this market segment. The mixer is said to offer a high impact resistance due to the design of its structure, which incorporates the use of high strength steels. Widening the truck frame, lowering the drum and semi-trailer all combine to improve stability and also reliability. Th