RALEIGH — Have you ever driven down the road and noticed trash along the route? It could be big pieces of tires, trash bags or even debris from accidents located in the median or in the lanes. All that can be very dangerous for N.C. Department of Transportation maintenance crews to pick up. That’s where the Gator Getter comes in.
The Gator Getter is a high-speed highway debris removal tool that is custom built to attach to heavy-duty trucks. The devise collects debris from general trash to remnants of blown-out tractor-trailer tires and car tires, and it works similar to a snowplow. The driver travels around 55 mph, lowers the device and scoops up the debris. Because the Gator Getter travels with traffic, NCDOT crews can avoid having to provide traffic control or close lanes for rubble removal.
“We take all these other factors out of the equation and then we have a safer operation,” said Division six safety officer Karol Koval. “[It] keeps our workers from exposure of actually stepping in to traffic.”
Across the state, NCDOT crews are starting to use this tool along interstates and major highways for maintenance programs.
Why is it called a gator getter? A “gator” is a trucking industry term for shredded remnants of truck tires on the highway. Division six, which covers Harnett, Cumberland, Bladen, Robeson and Columbus counties, recently received their Gator Getters and trained employees in Lumberton.
The manual process of removing debris requires workers to position themselves along the highway, some times just inches from on-coming traffic. In addition, manual debris removal often requires lane closures in order to remove large debris. Using a high-speed operation to remove trash and debris from the highway not only increases safety to the traveling public and employees, but it is also improves efficiency, cutting what used to be a four-man operation down to one. This saves both fuel and maintains costs. It can also help in recycling as tires and treads can be shredded and reused as tire-derived fuel for power plants or in construction projects.