When a construction project requires you to traverse an area without an existing road, you’re going to need an access solution. In some cases, you may need to invest in creating a permanent access road for ongoing site access and maintenance. You may also need temporary access roads to use for the duration of your site access project.

Like any necessary resource, you’ll want to find a way to optimize this expense to ensure that you’re meeting the standards for quality and safety at the best possible cost. Below, we outline how to achieve maximum efficiency in your construction efforts and why customizing site access is worth the effort.

Understanding temporary access roads

Temporary access roads allow you to move people, equipment and materials to a remote site. Often made from a collection of ground protection mats, temporary roads provide a safe route that is stable and level so you can navigate any type of terrain. They also help reduce wear and tear on equipment. For instance, even if it’s possible to take your heavy-duty trucks through a rocky, mountainous area, the risk of vehicles getting damaged or stuck can be mitigated with a temporary road. Ground protection mats also have minimal impact on the ground below, which means less replanting and lower restoration costs once your project is over.

The condition of the area in which you’re installing the road is perhaps the most crucial consideration, as different terrains will require different types of ground protection mats. As a result, it helps to have a knowledgeable partner with the expertise necessary to suggest the types of mats that work best for your scenario or project setting.

Advantages of project-specific solutions

Whether you're working in the middle of a crop field, through a marsh or to the top of the mountain, temporary access roads must be customized to meet the needs of the project and navigate the site-specific conditions. A gravel road works great to get to wind turbines in a field, but it won’t work when you need to cross a stream or limit damage to a protected marsh. Some advantages of a project-specific solution include optimizing safety, efficiency and budget.

Safety

A project-specific solution helps reduce risk as team members operate on the site. Stable work platforms in strategic locations, wider roads in high-traffic areas and specialized solutions for difficult terrain can all help ensure that crews are able to safely move around the site.

Efficiency

There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to temporary access roads. Customizing the road as the terrain changes from mile to mile—or even down to the foot—will allow crews to work seamlessly and efficiently.

Budget

Creating a temporary road around the site and the project is essential for optimizing the budget. Why pay for a heavy-duty ground protection mat when a light-duty solution is all you need? On the other hand, under-specifying ground protection mats can lead to additional costs in the future. As mentioned above, the cost of restoration should also be considered when arranging access solutions. The right ground protection mats also ensure peak safety; for construction teams and equipment, as well as any protected areas that mandate environmental preservation. An initial investment that protects the ground can help you avoid change orders, save you money and most importantly, keep everyone safe.

Industry applications for temporary access roads

Temporary access roads are used in a range of applications to build and maintain essential infrastructure, add new utility capacity and expand networks of power lines and pipelines. Whether you need to connect an existing stretch of road with a new gravel road or you require multiple layers of heavy-duty timber mats to support large equipment, temporary access roads are essential for the success of large-scale utility projects in the pipeline, transmission and renewable energy sectors.

Maximize efficiency with United Rentals

When you work with our team, you don’t get a simplistic solution based on a limited inventory of mats. You get a highly customized temporary access road strategy that leverages our deep experience, mat yards in strategic locations and the largest mat inventory in the country. We look at every angle to optimize your budget. Where does it make sense to install a gravel road? Can we use a lighter mat here to reduce freight costs? Does the project allow us to leapfrog sections of road so you can rent fewer mats?

With increasingly tighter budgets, project managers are always looking for ways to save and maximize efficiency. United Rentals is here to help.

Contact United Rentals to receive a quote or to learn more about our ground protection mat rentals.