How To Become A Highway Maintenance Worker: What It Is and Career Path

What is a highway maintenance worker and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A Highway Maintenance Worker or highway repair worker is meant to work on government projects which ensure that public roads, but especially large ones like highways, are safe to use and aren't falling apart. This can also include conducting work on bridges too.

Their many duties include such tasks as breaking and removing concrete and other surfaces, digging and drilling, pouring in materials, and actually building the road. They also remove snow and ice, debris from surrounding buildings, forests, mountains, or other objects and structures which may have been damaged and are now blocking the road. This often includes controlling and using various construction materials and machineries, such as trucks, rollers, and loaders.

A person seeking work as a Highway Maintenance Worker generally needs to have a high school degree or a GED. Some previous experience in construction work is usually wanted but not always necessary. Attending workshops and other classes in this field might be helpful and may open up better positions. On average, the Highway Maintenance Worker earns $16.69 an hour.

ScoreHighway Maintenance WorkerUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $40,488

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

3.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.64%

Asian 0.46%

Black or African American 7.84%

Hispanic or Latino 11.68%

Unknown 4.18%

White 74.20%

Gender

female 10.66%

male 89.34%

Age - 49

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 49

Stress level

7.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.9

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.8

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a highway maintenance worker

Explore highway maintenance worker education requirements

Most common highway maintenance worker degrees

High School Diploma

51.6 %

Associate

18.1 %

Bachelor's

12.5 %

Start to develop specific highway maintenance worker skills

Skills	Percentages
CDL	8.84%
Highway Maintenance	7.29%
Asphalt	7.05%
Hand Tools	5.66%
Loaders	5.50%

Complete relevant highway maintenance worker training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New highway maintenance workers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a highway maintenance worker based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real highway maintenance worker resumes.

Research highway maintenance worker duties and responsibilities

Operate snow plows, haul trucks, bobcats, front end loaders, and backhoe equipment.
Maintain trucks, pavement making equipment, snowplows, and salt spreaders.
Operate all cdl equipment which include snow plow, highway striper, street sweeper and transporter.
Operate a single and tandem axle dump truck, backhoe, loader, roller, and chain saws.

Prepare your highway maintenance worker resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your highway maintenance worker resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a highway maintenance worker resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable highway maintenance worker resume templates

Build a professional highway maintenance worker resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your highway maintenance worker resume.