Contractor's Choice Awards
Gold Medal Winner - Asphalt Milling Machines
Roadtec RX-900

Recently marking its 20th year in operation, Broomfield, Conn.-based Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming Inc. has approximately 60 employees and uses a variety of different equipment to support its pavement reclamation, cold planing, fine grading and rolling, calcium chloride and snowplowing services. It is the largest company of its type serving the New England and New York markets.

One machine that stands out to the company is the Roadtec RX-900, a 950-hp cold planer available with three or four track assemblies. This versatile machine allows contractors to cut up to 14 in. deep with widths of 7 ft 2 in., 8 ft 2 in., 10 ft or 12 ft 6 in. A 42-in.-wide front load-out conveyor, with 60° swing to either side, provides ample loading capacity.

It also aims for ease of maintenance and repair and features a 42-in.-wide primary conveyor with an endless heavy duty belt with 1-in.-tall molded rubber cleats.

Garrity put the RX-900 into action in May when it began work on resurfacing 7 miles of Rte. 95 in Greenwich, Conn., starting from the New York state line and progressing the northbound lanes for a total of about 260,000 sq yd. Another asphalt contractor took the millings to be reused in mix for other jobs.

“We started the first phase in May and we were cutting 23/4 in.,” said Bill Garrity, president of the company. “And we averaged about 15,000 sq yd a night.”

The first phase was completed in 10 shifts and the second phase began in late June. Garrity said the performance of the RX-900—the only milling machine present on this job—contributed greatly to the success of the first phase.

Additional features of the RX-900 include one-piece side sheets that run the entire length of the machine. They are made of high-strength steel for essential stability and balance without adding unnecessary thickness and weight. The RX-900 also features hydrostatic drive for the propulsion and conveyor system and automatic traction control. It has hydraulically controlled suspension, manually or automatically.

“We’re very pleased with it, pleased with their grade control and horsepower and the production that we get out of it,” he said. “They’re a very dependable machine.”

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming Inc. owns four Roadtec cold planers.

“We bought our first Roadtec in 2008 and then we bought a second one in 2009.

“Then we bought one in late-2009 and bought our fourth one in March 2010,” Garrity said.

The second half of the Rte. 95 resurfacing was another chance to put the RX-900 to work on a job that places critical importance on meeting strict deadlines. Garrity spoke in a tone that indicated his peace of mind.

“Although we’re pretty new on them, we’re very impressed with the production we get out of these machines and the service that we get from Roadtec,” he said.