Replacing aging sections of sidewalk and curbing is a constant need in Norridge, Ill. Unlike some communities, Norridge has no grassy strips between sidewalks and curbs. To efficiently remove damaged sidewalk and curb sections, crews require strong equipment that can excavate large slabs. Efficiency also can be increased if equipment is capable of pulling sections that curve around corners and drains without damaging turf or pavement that abuts the work area.
A. Lamp Road Builders works nearly year-round removing and replacing concrete sections, including the sidewalk and curbing in Norridge. Rocky Lagioia, operator of a Gradall Model XL 4100-II excavator for A. Lamp, uses a 24-in. pavement-removal bucket to pull up sections of sidewalk and curb.
“I can work quickly, usually pulling up about 2,500 ft in a day,” he said. “I need at least four trucks to keep up with me.”
After curbs and sidewalks are removed, the excavator is used to spread dirt and aggregate, preparing sections for new concrete.
“The way the boom moves makes the job easier,” said Lagioia, adding that the boom tilt allows him to carefully pull out concrete without excessive damage to residents’ adjoining properties or road surfaces that do not require repair.
As the volume of traffic continues to grow in suburban Washington, D.C., cities scramble to find quick solutions. One such project in Rockville, Md., was handled by C.W. Strittmatter Inc. To create extra lanes of traffic and make turns easier, some concrete intersection medians were removed altogether. Other medians were reduced in size and beautified by replacing huge slabs of concrete with new curbs, grassy areas and walkways.
Accomplishing the job quickly with minimal interruption of the traffic flow was critical. Also, Strittmatter’s crew needed highly productive equipment that could maneuver over the highway without surface damage typically created by conventional excavator tracks. The Gradall Model XL 4300-II excavator has the boom muscle and speed to break up concrete and load it into trucks—tasks once thought to be the exclusive domain of a conventional excavator. The high-pressure, load-sensing hydraulics do not require mode selection to operate efficiently, whether breaking up the concrete or spreading fill to create the grassy areas.
Using either an excavating bucket or a pavement removal bucket, the Model XL 4300-II excavator can efficiently remove the slabs and old curb strips, even behind curving sections of boom strips. Either with or without the use of outriggers or an optional blade, the excavator remains stable within a compact footprint. With a short tail swing, there is only minor traffic flow interruption. Highways and curbs surrounding the median strips are protected from excavator track damage because the excavator uses a rubber-tire undercarriage that moves efficiently both on and off paved surfaces.
