To solve both problems, Pennsylvania-based J-Tech has developed its LaneBlade attachment for vehicles. In operation since 2019 and in service with 20 US and Canadian DOTs and road maintenance contractors, the company is now planning to export it to Europe.
The LaneBlade, which resembles a snowplough, is fitted to a typical US pick-up truck. Made from heavy-duty, powder-coated steel and an Austrian-made Küper blade, it has a one-inch thick rubber contact face and a rubber blade reinforced with ceramic cores to give it stiffness and allow it to sweep debris without damaging the road surface.
The benefits are two-fold: a worker does not have to leave the safety of the cab and the debris can be removed without having to stop traffic. The LaneBlade is deployed at 20mph, after which the vehicle can speed up to keep pace with prevailing traffic. Debris, retained in front of the blade by ‘wings’ at either side, can be removed from the road as soon as the LaneBlade driver can find an exit, or pull on to the hard shoulder. New features include a touch-screen controller to deploy and stow the LaneBlade.
J-Tech’s marketing and business development manager, Fred Bergstresser, said that the LaneBlade is particularly used in tunnels, where limited room makes retrieving debris especially difficult.
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