Two or three days under the scorching sun, peeling off the skin, rain and snow weather inspection and snow removal can not stop
Road maintenance workers: all on duty from early morning work to bad weather at night
They are called the "beauticians" of the road. The hotter the weather, the higher the degree of adhesion of the asphalt, the better the effect of road repair, so they often rush to repair the road when it is the hottest. The ground is wet and slippery in rain and snow, and they usually stay out as long as it rains and snow. When the weather is bad, they are busy at work. They are road maintenance workers, no matter the wind, rain or the scorching sun, they stick to their posts to guard people's travel safety.
Look at the cloud map every ten minutes, inspect the road every half an hour, clean the side ditches accumulated by stinky water and silt from time to time... On August 12, when Beijing was waiting for the "heaviest rainfall since the flood season", Matthew, the head of the second maintenance center of the First Conservation Group, has gone through more than 30 extremely tense and busy hours. Starting from the 11th to make preparations for the maintenance of drainage equipment, to continuous inspections of drainage on the 12th, and to repairs in the hot and humid weather on the 13th, Matthew and his workers experienced heavy rains and high temperatures in the three days. They lived on the side of the highway. , Sleepless, just to protect the safety of the people in the capital.
Delamination in two or three days in hot weather
At 3 o'clock in the morning on July 24, a rapid alarm awakened Matthew in his sleep. After washing his face in cold water, he drove the road sweeper with his workers towards the sleeping city. Before the 6:30 morning rush hour, Matthew and his workers had to clean the three sections of Tongyan Expressway, Jingha Expressway and Sixth Ring Road that they were responsible for to ensure that people who travel early in the morning have a clean and tidy road.
Return to the station at 7 o'clock, take a break after breakfast, the weather's "baking" test on them has really begun. On this day, the local temperature in Beijing was close to 40°C.
"Today we have to replace the steel plate and clean up the road and water. Everyone, bring Huoxiang Zhengqi water and water cups, and pay attention to protection." At 9:30 in the morning, after the pre-departure team meeting, Matthew and the team members began the second session. jobs.
During the early morning inspection, Matthew found that a steel guard plate on the side of the road was damaged by a vehicle. To ensure the safety of the vehicle, they must replace the steel guard plate in time. The cutting and welding machines emitted sparks from time to time, coupled with the scorching sun and the baking of vehicle exhaust from highways, and soon Matthew's clothes were soaked.
"Aren't long-sleeved trousers stuffy?" The reporter couldn't help asking during the heat wave. "Long-sleeved trousers are essential for our summer trips. The steel plate baked in the hot sun can generally reach 60℃, and you will get burned if you are not paying attention." As he said, Matthew lifted up his sleeves and the reporter saw him dark. There are signs of burns and peeling on the arm. "For us in summer, it is very common for us to peel off the skin in two or three days, so not only the clothes must be tightly protected, but the soles must be thicker, generally at least two or three centimeters."
Once, in time for a road overhaul, the road surface had to be paved with asphalt. In the dog days, the ground temperature exceeded 50℃, and the hot asphalt reached 160℃. When Matthew returned home after laying the pavement, he discovered that many blisters had already been burned under his feet.
"Summer is a high incidence of road diseases, and it is also a golden period for road diseases. The hotter the weather, the higher the adhesion of the asphalt and the better the effect of road repair. Therefore, we cannot avoid high temperatures." In order to speed up maintenance. Speed, Matthew and the workers settled their lunch under the high-speed slope protection. After a brief rest, they had to set off to the next inspection point. "In order to prevent heatstroke, we try our best to work in the morning and evening and avoid noon in summer, but there are few cars at noon. In order to minimize the impact on traffic, part of the maintenance work and emergency rescue work can only be carried out in the hot afternoon."
Snow keeps cleaning up
When the reporter followed Ma Xiuqiang out for maintenance, from early morning to evening, his mobile phone was kept in his jacket pocket, and calls came from time to time. Ma Xiuqiang told reporters that, in addition to daily maintenance of roads, bridge maintenance, test inspections, etc., they did more work such as emergency support, clearing and rescue, and he was more accustomed to calling his team "emergency repairs." . "There may be situations on the highway at any time, so I'm used to turning on the phone 24 hours a day and making more than 100 calls a day."
Ma Xiuqiang told reporters that compared to hot weather, he is more worried about rain and snow. "Others ran home on rainy and snowy days, and we walked out when it rained or snowed."
At the beginning of this year, affected by the epidemic, many workers in the conservation center were unable to return to Beijing. Matthew, who stayed on duty in Beijing, became the main force in charge of snow protection work. During the Spring Festival, there was a heavy snowfall in Beijing. In order to ensure that the roads were "snow-stopped and black", Matthew drove the sweeper for more than 30 hours after going out. They could not stop their operations without stopping the snow. Although mechanical cleaning is available, the corners of the highway and outside the guardrails can still only be cleaned manually. "We stayed outdoors for as long as it was under the snow, and when we were busy, we didn’t even bother to eat. When we remembered the meal delivered to us by the center, the porridge had already frozen into ice lump, but the autumn clothes in the work clothes were wet with sweat. ."
Now, when Matthew's 11-year-old son saw the weather forecast showing rain and snow, he knew that his father would not be able to go home for a few more days. "My son asked me when I could accompany him to make a snowman since I was a kid. After so many years, I followed the convoy to remove snow when it snowed, and he has not been able to satisfy his simple wish." Speaking of his family, Matthew choked a little.
Multi-party protection of warmth and protector
In 2001, he came to Beijing from his hometown in Henan to become a road maintenance worker. In this position, Matthew has worked for nearly 20 years. From a small worker to today's section chief, the word "safety" has always been his mouthpiece. Side mantra. "The highway is full of dangers at all times. Sometimes even if safety warning signs are placed, cars that cannot control the speed will rush in. Over the past 20 years, I have also seen all kinds of accidents on the highway, so I have the more courage. The smaller the value, the higher the emphasis on safety."
The reporter saw in Matthew's WeChat that the file transfer assistant was filled with road signs sent to him. "Regardless of whether it is on duty or not, it has become a habit to pay attention to the roadside conditions. Even a stone or a water bottle on a highway can cause tragedy."
In the past 20 years, Matthew has traveled almost every highway in Beijing. “When we first started working, there were not so many highways in Beijing. Now the roads are well-connected. Our equipment and working environment have also undergone earth-shaking changes.”
Ma Xiuqiang told reporters that when he first worked, he took his shovel and hammer on the road, and now he has all kinds of modern machinery. "With advanced equipment, the requirements for our road maintenance workers are getting higher and higher." In 2016, with the support of the unit, Ma Xiuqiang led the establishment of a "youth studio" in the center. He not only imparted various working skills selflessly And experience, while also motivating workers to innovate together. "The standard factory-equipped waterwheels previously equipped are not suitable for highways in terms of pressure and direction. So I took welders and electricians to remodel the sprinklers. After the refitting, the high-pressure sprinklers have high pressure, multiple sprinklers can operate simultaneously, and save water. The work efficiency has been increased by 300%, water consumption has been saved by 50%, and road occupation time has been greatly reduced."
In the past 20 years, what has made Matthew even more warm is the care for road maintenance workers from all parts of the society.
In response to the practical problems of outdoor workers such as "difficulties in eating, drinking, rest, and toileting", in early 2016, the "Notice of the General Office of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions on Promoting the Construction of Outdoor Labor Service Sites" required the establishment of sanitation workers, etc. A service site system with outdoor workers as the main target. According to incomplete statistics, as of the end of 2018, trade unions at all levels have adopted various methods to build more than 20,000 outdoor labor service sites, with a cumulative investment of more than 300 million yuan, and serve more than 3 million outdoor laborers mainly composed of migrant workers. .
"Road maintenance front-line workers need to work outdoors for a long time. Some people say that we are road beauticians. There must be hard work, but you have to pay for everything. Although they have encountered misunderstandings from the public when they occupy roads and build roads. , But when we see that the roads are unimpeded and the citizens travel safely under our efforts, this is the greatest satisfaction of the road maintenance workers.” Matthew said.
Cao Yue Lei Yuxiang