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

  • Penta’s custom-made plant flexibility
    April 8, 2013
    Penta Automazioni Industriali says it began trading in 1991 in response to increased demand for automation in the handling, stacking, sorting and ageing of concrete elements. The company provides custom-made plants and, through a close relationship with customers, Penta says it is able to continuously improve its products and adapt them to constantly changing market demands.
  • Perlini Equipment for dump trucks
    April 8, 2013
    Perlini Equipment is one of the world's leading manufacturers of dump trucks – having sold over 12,000 of them worldwide since 1957. The firm currently offers machines up to a capacity of 95tonnes. Reliable and easy to drive, and with customised models available on request, the trucks are built with high quality Perlini original components, offering top-tier performance and fuel efficiency.
  • Tecnoidea Impianti plants reputation worldwide
    April 9, 2013
    With over 3,600,000m³ of water purified daily in more than 3,000 of its plants all over the world, Tecnoidea Impianti is one of the leading companies worldwide for water purification plants and sludge treatment systems. Its closed-cycle plants are aimed at marble and granites, aggregates and soil washing, tunnelling and concrete areas.
  • TESMEC Group’s multi-purpose solutions
    April 9, 2013
    The design and production of high powered tracked trenchers for linear excavation and bulk excavation and surface mining is one of many areas of expertise associated with the TESMEC Group. TESMEC also designs and manufactures machines and integrated systems for the stringing and maintenance of power lines; integrated solutions for the efficiency, the management and the monitoring of power grids; machines for the stringing, maintenance and diagnostic of railway power lines; and the design and production of G