The ROTOMILL!!!!

Our city has been blowing the budget trying to pave or seal the subdivision roads this year.  This explains the tax hike we received last month.  Skyler and I got to see the county's pavement profiler  in action yesterday morning and I'm sure we will again today.  All 800 horsepower of it!  That's 800 Caterpillar ponies produced from a 3412 V-12 Cat engine.  It's amazing to see in action!  The ground shakes, the exhaust plume is visible for a half mile, the smell is that of burnt carbide and hot asphalt!  They rotomill the existing roadway to remove approximately 4" so they can overlay new asphalt to make the 36 year old roads new again.  The machine is an engineering work of art.  It weighs 74,000 pounds!  It hold 1,500 gallons of water to minimize dust and cool the cutter.  It cuts asphalt like a rototiller in a vegetable garden! It fills a standard dump truck in a minute and a half!  I think every worker that runs it or is around it loves his or her job.  Even the street sweeper lady waved at Skyler.

The convoy of diesel powered machinery.

The ROTOMILL!!

Skyler was mesmerized.

The thing moves pretty fast!  About the same pace as the average person walking.  You can just make out the exhaust plume.

Return pass heading towards us.

Closer...

LOOK AT THE STEAM CREATED FROM ALL THE FRICTION!!!

The water keeps dust down and cools the cutterhead.

Retreating back for the final pass.

We got back from our first viewing and Skyler climbed up on the table to see if he could still see any machines.

Outing number 2.  We got much closer this time.

Still mesmerized.

The street sweeper.

ROTOMILL!!  All the workers smiled at Skyler.

LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THE EXHAUST PIPE!!!  I could see the exhaust plume from our house 2 streets away!

We got back and he was still looking for more machinery...