How to become a highway maintenance worker
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.
Steps to get there
Most employers expect usually requires a high school diploma or ged, though some occupations may not..Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
What highway maintenance workers do
- Drive trucks to transport crews and equipment to work sites.
- Erect, install, or repair guardrails, road shoulders, berms, highway markers, warning signals, and highway lighting, using hand tools and power tools.
- Clean and clear debris from culverts, catch basins, drop inlets, ditches, and other drain structures.
- 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.
- Haul and spread sand, gravel, and clay to fill washouts and repair road shoulders.
- Set out signs and cones around work areas to divert traffic.
Skills that matter most
- Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Learning
- Writing
- Mathematics
Is highway maintenance worker a good career?
On the numbers, this job is close to the average across occupations. Median pay is 1% below the all-occupation median. Whether it fits you depends on the work itself, the schooling you are willing to do and where you want to live.
Where it pays most
- Oregon $65,330
- Washington $65,300
- Connecticut $64,870
- Minnesota $63,150
- Illinois $61,700
Highway Maintenance Workers salary by state and city
Sources: O*NET® 31.0 (CC BY 4.0, USDOL/ETA) and BLS Employment Projections 2025–35. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025.