Why Road Crew Safety Training Fails in the Classroom, And How to Keep Their Attention

If you have ever stood at the front of a room full of highway or public works crew members with a PowerPoint clicker in your hand, you already know the feeling, you are not just competing with short attention spans, you are competing with a lifetime of classroom fatigue. For many road workers, tradi…continue

Highway Superintendent vs. Road Supervisor vs. Road Master, What’s the Difference?

If you have spent any time in public works, you already know that job titles can be about as consistent as spring potholes, meaning not very. One town has a Highway Superintendent, the next has a Road Supervisor, and somewhere down the road a Road Master is doing essentially the same job but with a …continue

When the Town Board Becomes a Real Pain in the Ass

A survival guide for highway supers with frayed nerves and a half-empty coffee mug. The Anatomy of a Board-Induced Migraine Town boards are like asphalt mixes: every batch is a little different, and sometimes you get one with too much aggregate and not nearly enough binder. One meeting they’re…continue

More Features, More Problems? Rethinking Asset Management for Small Towns

Highway departments love tools, but they love usable tools even more. When towns start shopping for an asset management system, the conversation often drifts straight into buzzwords like artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, mobile LiDAR, and dashboards with more colors than a DOT detour ma…continue

Buying Big Toys: A Casual Guide to Getting Equipment the Right Way

Let’s be honest – one of the best parts of working in a highway department is the equipment. New trucks. Bigger plows. Shiny new mowers. Who wouldn’t want to bring home some new toys for the crew? But here’s the thing: before you go adding that $250,000 grader to your wish li…continue

The Fine Art of Butting Heads With Your Town Board (And Surviving to Tell the Tale)

Let’s face it: if you’ve got a seat at the department head table, and there’s a Town Board in the room, sooner or later you’re going to butt heads. It’s not personal. It’s not even unusual. It’s practically a job requirement. Town Board members come from all…continue

Can You Say No to a Utility Road Cut? Kinda, Sorta, Maybe

Let’s say you’re a highway superintendent enjoying your morning coffee when BAM! – you get word that a utility crew is planning to slice up your freshly paved road like it’s a sheet cake at a church picnic. Can you stop them? Well… you can try. And if you play your car…continue

What Belongs on a Work Order? (And Why It Matters)

Let’s be honest. No one dreams of paperwork when they sign up to run a highway crew. But a good, simple work order can save a road supervisor from all kinds of headaches later on. Whether it’s a routine pothole patch or a full-day ditching job, having the right info on a work order helps…continue

Dealing with Big Mouths, Bigger Egos, and the Rest of the Crew

If you’ve been in this line of work long enough, you know the type. The loudmouth. The guy (or gal) who never misses an opportunity to make themselves the center of attention at the shop. Who constantly peppers meetings with “Well, that’s not how I would do it” comments. Who …continue

The Heavy Equipment Every Small Highway Department Should Have

Running a small highway department? You don’t need a million-dollar fleet, but you do need the right tools to keep your roads safe and your crew productive. The good news is, with a solid core set of equipment, even the smallest towns can punch well above their weight when it comes to road mai…continue

Recruiting for the Highway Department: It’s Not All About the Paycheck

Let’s be honest, recruiting good people for highway department jobs isn’t getting any easier. You’re often competing with private contractors who can offer higher wages, especially when it comes to drivers with a Class B CDL in their pocket. Civil servant pay? It’s not exactl…continue

Crack Sealing Can Help You Stretch Road Life

You don’t need to be a pavement engineer to know that cracks are bad news for your roads. But here’s the good news: you can fight back, and one of the simplest, most cost-effective tools in your arsenal is crack sealing. Let’s take a quick drive through the why, when, and how of cr…continue