AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 47-4051.00
Will AI replace Highway Maintenance Workers?
Highway Maintenance Workers: AI can already handle 1 of 19 tasks; most of the work is hands-on, and the part AI can address mostly needs an efficient-tier model.
Have a team in this role?
Get your free 10-role sample: send this role and up to nine others, and a founder sends a board-pack PDF within two business days.
Every task, scored
The 19 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Highway Maintenance Workers, from most to least exposed. 1 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inspect markers to verify accurate installation. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Perform roadside landscaping work, such as clearing weeds and brush, and planting and trimming trees. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Flag motorists to warn them of obstacles or repair work ahead. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Erect, install, or repair guardrails, road shoulders, berms, highway markers, warning signals, and highway lighting, using hand tools and power tools. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Haul and spread sand, gravel, and clay to fill washouts and repair road shoulders. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Inspect, clean, and repair drainage systems, bridges, tunnels, and other structures. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Dump, spread, and tamp asphalt, using pneumatic tampers, to repair joints and patch broken pavement. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Measure and mark locations for installation of markers, using tape, string, or chalk. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Blend compounds to form adhesive mixtures used for marker installation. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Set out signs and cones around work areas to divert traffic. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Perform preventative maintenance on vehicles and heavy equipment. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Clean and clear debris from culverts, catch basins, drop inlets, ditches, and other drain structures. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Remove litter and debris from roadways, including debris from rock and mud slides. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Apply poisons along roadsides and in animal burrows to eliminate unwanted roadside vegetation and rodents. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Paint traffic control lines and place pavement traffic messages, by hand or using machines. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Apply oil to road surfaces, using sprayers. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Place and remove snow fences used to prevent the accumulation of drifting snow on highways. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Drive trucks to transport crews and equipment to work sites. | Estimated | No tier | |
| 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. | Estimated | No tier |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 19 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 19 of 19. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.
The model tier this role needs
An efficient-tier model or lower covers 42% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 46% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 54% is hands-on.
Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.
Wages, employment and outlook
- US employment
- 154,960
- Median annual wage
- $50,260
- Middle half of earners
- $43,500 to $61,040
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +3.0%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.
Adjacent roles
The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.
- Maintenance Workers, Machinery 61% skill overlap, about 14 months to move Exposure20
- Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators 61% skill overlap, about 14 months to move Exposure17
- Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers 61% skill overlap, about 14 months to move Exposure27
- Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators 61% skill overlap, about 14 months to move Exposure18
- Maintenance and Repair Workers, General 59% skill overlap, about 15 months to move Exposure21
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Highway Maintenance Workers and AI
Will AI replace Highway Maintenance Workers?
AI already handles 1 of the 19 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 21 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by +3.0% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Highway Maintenance Workers?
21 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 0 of the 19 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 19 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Highway Maintenance Workers tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Inspect markers to verify accurate installation. It is the only task that reach 60 or more.
What AI model tier does this role need?
An efficient-tier model or lower covers 42% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 54% is hands-on work that no model tier covers. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.
How many people work as Highway Maintenance Workers, and what do they earn?
154,960 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $50,260 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +3.0% from 2024 to 2034.
How to cite
Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.
JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Highway Maintenance Workers. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/highway-maintenance-workers
Have a team in this role?
Get your free 10-role sample. Send this role and up to nine others, with no employee data, and a founder sends a PDF in board-pack format within two business days.
A founder replies within one business day.