Highway Maintenance Workers
Construction and Extraction Occupations- O*NET-SOC code
- 47-4051.00
Maintain highways, municipal and rural roads, airport runways, and rights-of-way. Duties include patching broken or eroded pavement and repairing guard rails, highway markers, and snow fences. May also mow or clear brush from along road, or plow snow from roadway.
- Data source: BLSPublished: 2026-08
Low· relative
LowFour relative bandsVery highGroup-level value
Scale, basis and source
Four relative bands (Low / Moderate / High / Very high)
831 detailed occupations in the BLS Employment Projections table. Assigned per National Employment Matrix (NEM) code, so occupations sharing a NEM code carry the same band
- Data source: AnthropicPublished: 2026-03
0.000
0.000Range of values carried here0.745Scale, basis and source
Observed exposure index, 0–1 as published
Mapped onto O*NET tasks
Published per SOC 2018 occupation; every O*NET occupation with the same SOC 2018 code carries this value
- Data source: ILOPublished: 2025
0.09
0.09Range of values carried here0.70Group-level value
Scale, basis and source
Generative AI exposure index, 0–1 as published
Published per ISCO-08 unit group. Linked to this occupation, wholly or in part, by applying U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to 2018 SOC) as published
What kind of figure this source publishes
The BLS category is a relative rank, not an absolute level, and it is not a first-hand measurement: it groups an occupation's percentile ranks across several published studies into four bands. It is not an employment or wage forecast, not a probability of adoption, and it does not separate automation from augmentation.
Task-level exposure
Exposed tasks only19 rated tasks · 1 tasks with β ≥ 0.5 (5.3%)
β = direct exposure (E1) + 0.5 × exposure when tools are available (E2), per the source repository's definition.
- Source unit: O*NET 27.2 tasks → O*NET 31.0 occupation code
- All rated tasks are in the O*NET 31.0 task list.
- Source
- OpenAI "GPTs are GPTs" exposure rubric
- Release
- gh-main-0471612
- License
- MIT License, Copyright (c) 2024 OpenAI
Values in this tab are predicted labels, not observations. Eloundou et al. (2023) published two rating regimes — human raters and GPT-4 — and the β shown here is derived from the GPT-4 rater basis alone; the same task can take a different value under the other regime.
| Task (O*NET 27.2) | βE1 + 0.5 × E2 |
|---|---|
Inspect markers to verify accurate installation.O*NET Task ID 4883 | 0.5 |
Flag motorists to warn them of obstacles or repair work ahead.O*NET Task ID 4871 | 0.0 |
Set out signs and cones around work areas to divert traffic.O*NET Task ID 4872 | 0.0 |
Dump, spread, and tamp asphalt, using pneumatic tampers, to repair joints and patch broken pavement.O*NET Task ID 4874 | 0.0 |
Drive trucks to transport crews and equipment to work sites.O*NET Task ID 4875 | 0.0 |
Inspect, clean, and repair drainage systems, bridges, tunnels, and other structures.O*NET Task ID 4876 | 0.0 |
Haul and spread sand, gravel, and clay to fill washouts and repair road shoulders.O*NET Task ID 4877 | 0.0 |
Erect, install, or repair guardrails, road shoulders, berms, highway markers, warning signals, and highway lighting, using hand tools and power tools.O*NET Task ID 4878 | 0.0 |
Remove litter and debris from roadways, including debris from rock and mud slides.O*NET Task ID 4879 | 0.0 |
Clean and clear debris from culverts, catch basins, drop inlets, ditches, and other drain structures.O*NET Task ID 4880 | 0.0 |
Perform roadside landscaping work, such as clearing weeds and brush, and planting and trimming trees.O*NET Task ID 4881 | 0.0 |
Paint traffic control lines and place pavement traffic messages, by hand or using machines.O*NET Task ID 4882 | 0.0 |
Apply poisons along roadsides and in animal burrows to eliminate unwanted roadside vegetation and rodents.O*NET Task ID 4884 | 0.0 |
Measure and mark locations for installation of markers, using tape, string, or chalk.O*NET Task ID 4885 | 0.0 |
Apply oil to road surfaces, using sprayers.O*NET Task ID 4886 | 0.0 |
Blend compounds to form adhesive mixtures used for marker installation.O*NET Task ID 4887 | 0.0 |
Place and remove snow fences used to prevent the accumulation of drifting snow on highways.O*NET Task ID 4888 | 0.0 |
Perform preventative maintenance on vehicles and heavy equipment.O*NET Task ID 18783 | 0.0 |
Drive heavy equipment and vehicles with adjustable attachments to sweep debris from paved surfaces, mow grass and weeds, remove snow and ice, and spread salt and sand.O*NET Task ID 18784 | 0.0 |
β = E1 + 0.5 × E2 · E1 = tasks where direct LLM access alone cuts time by at least 50%, E2 = tasks where software built on top of an LLM cuts time by at least 50%. Values take only 0 / 0.5 / 1.0.
Data sources & licenses — O*NET®, Eloundou et al. (2023): see full notices on the Credits page
All O*NET 31.0 task statements (19)
All O*NET 31.0 task statements for this occupation (English, as published; task type core or supplemental). Exposure values are not listed here; they are in the table above, next to each task statement as worded in the O*NET version each source used.
| Task (O*NET 31.0) | Type |
|---|---|
| Flag motorists to warn them of obstacles or repair work ahead. | Core |
| Set out signs and cones around work areas to divert traffic. | Core |
| Dump, spread, and tamp asphalt, using pneumatic tampers, to repair joints and patch broken pavement. | Core |
| Drive trucks to transport crews and equipment to work sites. | Core |
| Inspect, clean, and repair drainage systems, bridges, tunnels, and other structures. | Core |
| Haul and spread sand, gravel, and clay to fill washouts and repair road shoulders. | Core |
| Erect, install, or repair guardrails, road shoulders, berms, highway markers, warning signals, and highway lighting, using hand tools and power tools. | Core |
| Remove litter and debris from roadways, including debris from rock and mud slides. | Core |
| Clean and clear debris from culverts, catch basins, drop inlets, ditches, and other drain structures. | Core |
| Perform roadside landscaping work, such as clearing weeds and brush, and planting and trimming trees. | Core |
| Perform preventative maintenance on vehicles and heavy equipment. | Core |
| Drive heavy equipment and vehicles with adjustable attachments to sweep debris from paved surfaces, mow grass and weeds, remove snow and ice, and spread salt and sand. | Core |
| Paint traffic control lines and place pavement traffic messages, by hand or using machines. | Supplemental |
| Inspect markers to verify accurate installation. | Supplemental |
| Apply poisons along roadsides and in animal burrows to eliminate unwanted roadside vegetation and rodents. | Supplemental |
| Measure and mark locations for installation of markers, using tape, string, or chalk. | Supplemental |
| Apply oil to road surfaces, using sprayers. | Supplemental |
| Blend compounds to form adhesive mixtures used for marker installation. | Supplemental |
| Place and remove snow fences used to prevent the accumulation of drifting snow on highways. | Supplemental |
1.38/ 3· Robot exposure index
Scale, basis and source
Each physical task is graded 0–3 by the setting in which robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated could do it (0 none · 1 purpose-built robot settings such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line · 2 structured facilities such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port · 3 unstructured settings such as a private home or a construction site), and the grades are averaged by share of working time
Physical tasks among this occupation's O*NET 29.3 tasks
Anthropic estimated the grades and time shares with Claude Opus 5 using web search, as of 2026.
The robot exposure index is a different measure from the AI exposure figures on this site and cannot be added to or compared with them. It does not measure actual adoption or cost, and 0 also covers occupations with no physical tasks.
Tier of each physical task
Robot environment tiers (E0–E3)
E0 noneDetails
Rated not doable by robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated, even in a purpose-built setting
E1 purpose-built robot settingsDetails
Rated doable in a setting built around the machine, such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line
E2 structured facilitiesDetails
Rated doable in a human work facility that an institution keeps to a working standard, such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port
E3 unstructured settingsDetails
Rated doable in a setting that no institution keeps to a working standard, such as a private home or a construction site
Only tasks classified as physical are listed; other tasks have no tier in the source.
| Task (O*NET 29.3) | Robot environment tier |
|---|---|
| Flag motorists to warn them of obstacles or repair work ahead. | E3 unstructured settings |
| Set out signs and cones around work areas to divert traffic. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Dump, spread, and tamp asphalt, using pneumatic tampers, to repair joints and patch broken pavement. | E0 none |
| Drive trucks to transport crews and equipment to work sites. | E2 structured facilities |
| Inspect, clean, and repair drainage systems, bridges, tunnels, and other structures. | E0 none |
| Haul and spread sand, gravel, and clay to fill washouts and repair road shoulders. | E2 structured facilities |
| Erect, install, or repair guardrails, road shoulders, berms, highway markers, warning signals, and highway lighting, using hand tools and power tools. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Remove litter and debris from roadways, including debris from rock and mud slides. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Clean and clear debris from culverts, catch basins, drop inlets, ditches, and other drain structures. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Perform roadside landscaping work, such as clearing weeds and brush, and planting and trimming trees. | E2 structured facilities |
| Perform preventative maintenance on vehicles and heavy equipment. | E0 none |
| Drive heavy equipment and vehicles with adjustable attachments to sweep debris from paved surfaces, mow grass and weeds, remove snow and ice, and spread salt and sand. | E2 structured facilities |
| Paint traffic control lines and place pavement traffic messages, by hand or using machines. | E2 structured facilities |
| Inspect markers to verify accurate installation. | E2 structured facilities |
| Apply poisons along roadsides and in animal burrows to eliminate unwanted roadside vegetation and rodents. | E2 structured facilities |
| Measure and mark locations for installation of markers, using tape, string, or chalk. | E3 unstructured settings |
| Apply oil to road surfaces, using sprayers. | E2 structured facilities |
| Blend compounds to form adhesive mixtures used for marker installation. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Place and remove snow fences used to prevent the accumulation of drifting snow on highways. | E0 none |
Occupation information
Employment outlook (BLS)
- Employment, 2025
- 162K
- Projected employment, 2035
- 167K
- Change (2025–35)
- +3.4%
- Median annual wage, 2025
- $50,260
- Typical education needed for entry
- High school diploma or equivalent
Korea classification links (KSCO)
Links from the current release of the Korea Occupation Direct Crosswalk v1.1, made by AI Changing Work. Relation values are read from the O*NET-SOC occupation side.
| KSCO code | KSCO title | Relation | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 91001 | 건설 단순 종사원 | Related, not a match | confirmed |
| 94130 | 거리 및 공공장소 청소원 | Related, not a match | confirmed |
Relation and status definitions(kr-direct v1.1)
ILO occupational description
AI Changing Work links the ISCO-08 unit groups below to this occupation by applying the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (2018 SOC to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to ISCO-08) as published, without case-by-case selection; each link may be whole or partial.
- ISCO-08 9312Civil Engineering Labourers
The definition, tasks and examples below are the ILO's description of that unit group, not of this occupation.
Civil engineering labourers perform routine tasks in connection with the building and maintenance of roads, railways, dams and other civil engineering projects.
Tasks
- (a) digging and filling holes and trenches using hand held tools;
- (b) shovelling and spreading gravel and related materials;
- (c) trimming and cutting rocks and concrete and bitumen surfaces using jack-hammers;
- (d) loading and unloading construction materials, excavated material and equipment and transporting them around construction sites using wheelbarrows and hand trucks;
- (e) cleaning worksites and removing obstructions.
Example occupations
Construction labourer (civil engineering) · Earthmoving labourer · Maintenance labourer (dams)
Sources: ILO ISCO-08 — details: Credits
ESCO occupational vocabulary
Each entry below is matched to this occupation in the published ESCO-O*NET Crosswalk (version 1, 2022). The match types are that crosswalk's; the wording is AI Changing Work's.
- road maintenance workerESCO 9312.1.3Same scope
Road maintenance workers perform routine inspections of roads, and are sent out to perform repairs when called for. They patch potholes, cracks and other damage in roads.
- road markerESCO 9312.1.4This occupation is broader
Road markers apply markings to roads to increase safety, indicate traffic regulations, and help road users find the way. They use different pieces of machinery to paint lines onto the road and install other markings such as reflective cat's eyes.
- road sign installerESCO 9312.1.5This occupation is broader
Road sign installers take road signs to the specified location and erect it. The installers may drill a hole into the ground, or remove existing paving to access the soil. They may anchor heavy signs in concrete.
- snow-clearing workerESCO 8342.9This occupation is broader
Snow-clearing workers operate trucks and plows to remove snow and ice from public sidewalks, streets and other locations. They also dump salt and sand on the ground to de-ice the concerning locations.
- civil engineering workerESCO 9312.1Overlapping, not the same
Civil engineering workers perform tasks concerning the cleaning and preparation of construction sites for civil engineering projects. This includes the work on building and maintenance of roads, railways and dams.
- road construction workerESCO 8342.6Overlapping, not the same
Road construction workers perform road construction on earthworks, substructure works and the pavement section of the road. They cover the compacted soil with one or more layers. Road construction workers usually lay a stabilising bed of sand or clay first before adding asphalt or concrete slabs in order to finish a road.
- road maintenance technicianESCO 3112.1.11Overlapping, not the same
Road maintenance technicians inspect and manage roads in enclosed areas for maintenance and repair. They help to relieve traffic safely and smoothly, and check if traffic signs, roads and pavements are in good condition.
- road roller operatorESCO 8342.7Overlapping, not the same
Road roller operators work with equipment to compact a variety of materials, such as soil, gravel, concrete or asphalt, in the construction of roads and foundations. They walk behind, or sit on top of the road roller, depending on the type and size, and roll over the area to be compacted.
Source: European Commission, DG EMPL — ESCO API 2026-08-08 (bridge v1.2.1)
License: CC BY 4.0 (EU Reuse Notice)
ESCO reuse terms and the modification notice are in Credits.
France classification links (ROME)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and ROME 4.0 job profiles, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side. Links marked “provisional” were adopted on the judgments of two judges from the same model family (Claude) alone, or by an operator rule applied to their judgments, so they rest on weaker evidence than confirmed links.
| ROME code | ROME title (French) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| I1202 | Agent / Agente d'exploitation de la voirie | This occupation is narrowerprovisional |
| I1208 | Patrouilleur autoroutier / Patrouilleuse autoroutière | This occupation is broaderprovisional |
| F1702 | Ouvrier / Ouvrière en voieries urbaines | Related, not a matchprovisional |
Source: France Travail — Répertoire Opérationnel des Métiers et des Emplois (ROME 4.0), version 61, last updated 15 June 2026 (https://www.data.gouv.fr/datasets/repertoire-operationnel-des-metiers-et-des-emplois-rome). Licence Ouverte 2.0.
ROME codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET-SOC occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a France Travail correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: fr-direct v1)
Spain classification links (CNO-11)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and CNO-11 occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| CNO-11 code | CNO-11 title (Spanish) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 9601 | Peones de obras públicas | This occupation is narrowerprovisional |
| 8331 | Operadores de maquinaria de movimientos de tierras y equipos similares | Related, not a matchprovisional |
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), National Classification of Occupations 2011 (CNO-11, Royal Decree 1591/2010) — www.ine.es · Licensed CC BY 4.0. CNO-11 codes and Spanish titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not an INE correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: es-direct v1)
Germany classification links (KldB)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and KldB occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| KldB code | KldB title (German) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 51212 | Straßen- und Tunnelwärter/innen - fachlich ausgerichtete Tätigkeiten | Same scopeprovisional |
| 32201 | Berufe im Tiefbau (ohne Spezialisierung) - Helfer-/Anlerntätigkeiten | Related, not a matchprovisional |
Source: © Statistik der Bundesagentur für Arbeit — Klassifikation der Berufe 2010 – überarbeitete Fassung 2020, https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de. KldB codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own mapping (eigene Zuordnung) and are not a Bundesagentur für Arbeit correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: de-direct v1)
Japan classification links (JSCO)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and JSCO occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| JSCO code | JSCO title (Japanese) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 681 | 土木従事者 | This occupation is narrower |
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Japan Standard Occupational Classification (Dec. 2009, MIC Notification No. 555). JSCO codes and Japanese titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a MIC correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: jp-direct v1)
Sources, licenses and AI Changing Work's modification and translation notices for this page: Credits & sources