Asphalt compactor (tandem)

Creating Roads: How Road Construction Can Be More Complicated Than You Think

However, it is not simply a matter of rolling a compactor over asphalt one time and being done. Roads must be compacted multiple times in order to reach a point where they are safe to drive on. However, it’s difficult to get an asphalt compactor to roll over the exact same section of road over and over, and mistakes at this stage of construction can lead to over compressed or under compressed asphalt, which can create major issues down the line.

To deal with this problem, rather than using a single asphalt compactor, most companies use the tandem arrangement, which involves at least two asphalt compactors facing in the same direction and moving one behind the other. This allows the road to be compacted multiple times and minimizes the risk of poor compression. Today, the asphalt compactor (tandem) is the most popular method and arrangement on road construction sites. Some of the biggest brands are : Bobcat, Bomag, Case, Caterpillar & JCB.