A LOCAL council is expected to fork out more than $100,000 for two new Graderoll Mono rollers to improve the district’s road surfaces.
The District Council of Loxton Waikerie moved to investigate costs for the purchase of four new patrol grader rollers in July following the degradation of its existing attachments.
Quotes received by caterpillar business Cavpower and MSA Magnets that same month estimated the costs of two new Broons Graderoll Mono rollers and two deep field magnets at approximately $110,000, which council chose to move forward with at last month’s meeting.
“The rollers are a necessary attachment to help with maintenance patrol grading when there is moisture present to help compact lose material on the road created by grading,” said Domenic Perre, District Council of Loxton Waikerie co-ordinator of road construction and capital projects.
“You cannot achieve compaction of dry material and expect it to hold together.
“Similarly, you can’t expect to achieve compaction without applying a certain amount of weight through the wheels of the roller.”
The new Graderroll Mono rollers have a row of 10 solid tyres and are heavy enough to use for compacting a natural surface or sheeted road while it is being graded.
Mr Perre said the Graderroll mono allowed adjustable downwards pressure to be applied, multiplying the static weight and achieving better compaction.
District Council of Loxton Waikerie CEO David Beaton said this meant the road surface would be consolidated more and improve the ride surface for motorists.
“I think rolling the roads when we’re grading and there’s a reasonable amount of moisture still in the road surface means that it gets consolidated more,” he said.
“So it makes for a better ride, it means the road gets to last longer because it’s not just blowing away, and something going into the potholes has more chance of staying there if it’s rolled in at the same time as the moisture, especially if the road surface has a reasonable amount of clay in it as well.
“Hopefully it’ll improve the ride surface across our roads across the district as we implement that strategy.”
A delivery time of eight weeks is anticipated from the date of order.