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

  • High court drama expected at Highways UK event, NEC, Birmingham
    November 7, 2016
    What happens when a highways services employee is prosecuted for failing to follow established safety procedures? How would a courtroom drama unfold for the accused and the employer?
    Read More
  • HxGN Live 2015 Las Vegas! 3D machine control comes alive
    May 18, 2015
    Complete implementation of 3D machine control systems ensured that K A Aurstad became one of Norway’s fastest growing and in-demand contractors because of effective production improvement in both quality and accuracy. Combine this with web-based project hubs and machines can then start work on the correct project only minutes after the latest design leaves the drawing board. The use of machine control is important for K A Aurstad, based in Sunnmøre and whose 140 or more employees work in heavy constru
    Read More
  • Foran Equipment helps Kananaskis kayakers construct course
    April 27, 2016
    In the Canadian Rocky Mountains, there was a window of opportunity of only several days before these excavators had to be out of the Kananaskis River ahead of nearby Barrier Dam releasing its water. The provincial Alberta Whitewater Association hired local contractor Foran Equipment to bring in their equipment in to re-work the riverbed after severe flooding in June 2013 washed out the kayaking courses.
    Read More
  • Fan’s Ford Focus finds favour with Flavor Fav
    December 2, 2015
    Pop stars are noted for taking the most outrageous limousines to their gigs. But what should a singing group do if their transport doesn’t show up, leaving them stranded in a strange city? That was the question facing New York’s hip-hop legend Public Enemy when recently in the United Kingdom they found themselves in a record store and their taxi to their gig nowhere to be found. Public Enemy had booked a normal taxi amid their concern that their large tour bus could not navigate the narrow city street
    Read More

Highlighted Content