Road construction operatives
Road construction operatives construct, repair and maintain roads and lay paving slabs and kerbstones to form pavements and street gutters.
- Employees (UK)
- 18k
- Median annual pay
- £38,315
- Exposure score ?
- 0.0/10 Minimal 0.2/10 Minimal strict reading, with tools is 0.2/10 with-tools reading, strict is 0.0/10
- Wage exposure
- £0 £0
Higher exposure than 8% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.
What this score means.
Most of this role's work is still hard for AI: physical presence, practised skill, judgement in context and direct care, the things that do not turn into text.
If you are in this role
Nothing here is under pressure today, but the frontier moves. Learn enough to direct AI at the paperwork around the job. People in hands-on roles who can do that become unusually useful inside their organisations.
Most of this role's work is still hard for AI: physical presence, practised skill, judgement in context and direct care, the things that do not turn into text.
If you are in this role
Nothing here is under pressure today, but the frontier moves. Learn enough to direct AI at the paperwork around the job. People in hands-on roles who can do that become unusually useful inside their organisations.
Where the work usually starts.
This role's strict reading is low because its top tasks are judgement, not drafting. The three highest-stakes tasks below are still usually where the work starts. Switch to With tools to see what AI plus the right context can take on.
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Patrol assigned track sections so that damaged or broken track can be located and reported.
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Repair or adjust track switches, using wrenches and replacement parts.
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Weld sections of track together, such as switch points and frogs.
For this role the labels do not surface obvious candidates, so the work would start with the highest-stakes tasks below and find the AI angle in conversation.
-
Patrol assigned track sections so that damaged or broken track can be located and reported.
-
Repair or adjust track switches, using wrenches and replacement parts.
-
Weld sections of track together, such as switch points and frogs.
Every role has three or four places like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days.
Every task in the role.
Every O*NET task for this occupation, split by what AI can do unaided and what still needs a person. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central each task is.
Tasks via O*NET "Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators" (47-4061.00).
What AI can already do
0 of 26 tasks, unaided
No tasks here are labelled as something an LLM can do unaided. Switch to 'With tools' above to see what changes when AI is paired with the right context.
What still needs a person
26 of 26 tasks
Patrol assigned track sections so that damaged or broken track can be located and reported.
Repair or adjust track switches, using wrenches and replacement parts.
Weld sections of track together, such as switch points and frogs.
Observe leveling indicator arms to verify levelness and alignment of tracks.
Operate single- or multiple-head spike driving machines to drive spikes into ties and secure rails.
Operate track wrenches to tighten or loosen bolts at joints that hold ends of rails together.
String and attach wire-guidelines machine to rails so that tracks or rails can be aligned or leveled.
Cut rails to specified lengths, using rail saws.
Lubricate machines, change oil, or fill hydraulic reservoirs to specified levels.
Drill holes through rails, tie plates, or fishplates for insertion of bolts or spikes, using power drills.
Clean tracks or clear ice or snow from tracks or switch boxes.
Clean, grade, or level ballast on railroad tracks.
Raise rails, using hydraulic jacks, to allow for tie removal and replacement.
Adjust controls of machines that spread, shape, raise, level, or align track, according to specifications.
Engage mechanisms that lay tracks or rails to specified gauges.
Drive graders, tamping machines, brooms, or ballast spreading machines to redistribute gravel or ballast between rails.
Drive vehicles that automatically move and lay tracks or rails over sections of track to be constructed, repaired, or maintained.
Dress and reshape worn or damaged railroad switch points or frogs, using portable power grinders.
Clean or make minor repairs to machines or equipment.
Grind ends of new or worn rails to attain smooth joints, using portable grinders.
Operate single- or multiple-head spike pullers to pull old spikes from ties.
Turn wheels of machines, using lever controls, to adjust guidelines for track alignments or grades, following specifications.
Push controls to close grasping devices on track or rail sections so that they can be raised or moved.
Operate tie-adzing machines to cut ties and permit insertion of fishplates that hold rails.
Paint railroad signs, such as speed limits or gate-crossing warnings.
Spray ties, fishplates, or joints with oil to protect them from weathering.
Tasks via O*NET "Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators" (47-4061.00).
What AI can already do
0 of 26 tasks, with tools
Even with tools, no tasks here are labelled as something AI can do today. The work is judgment, presence, or context-heavy enough that the academic labelling sees no leverage.
What still needs a person
26 of 26 tasks
Patrol assigned track sections so that damaged or broken track can be located and reported.
Repair or adjust track switches, using wrenches and replacement parts.
Weld sections of track together, such as switch points and frogs.
Observe leveling indicator arms to verify levelness and alignment of tracks.
Operate single- or multiple-head spike driving machines to drive spikes into ties and secure rails.
Operate track wrenches to tighten or loosen bolts at joints that hold ends of rails together.
String and attach wire-guidelines machine to rails so that tracks or rails can be aligned or leveled.
Cut rails to specified lengths, using rail saws.
Lubricate machines, change oil, or fill hydraulic reservoirs to specified levels.
Drill holes through rails, tie plates, or fishplates for insertion of bolts or spikes, using power drills.
Clean tracks or clear ice or snow from tracks or switch boxes.
Clean, grade, or level ballast on railroad tracks.
Raise rails, using hydraulic jacks, to allow for tie removal and replacement.
Adjust controls of machines that spread, shape, raise, level, or align track, according to specifications.
Engage mechanisms that lay tracks or rails to specified gauges.
Drive graders, tamping machines, brooms, or ballast spreading machines to redistribute gravel or ballast between rails.
Drive vehicles that automatically move and lay tracks or rails over sections of track to be constructed, repaired, or maintained.
Dress and reshape worn or damaged railroad switch points or frogs, using portable power grinders.
Clean or make minor repairs to machines or equipment.
Grind ends of new or worn rails to attain smooth joints, using portable grinders.
Operate single- or multiple-head spike pullers to pull old spikes from ties.
Turn wheels of machines, using lever controls, to adjust guidelines for track alignments or grades, following specifications.
Push controls to close grasping devices on track or rail sections so that they can be raised or moved.
Operate tie-adzing machines to cut ties and permit insertion of fishplates that hold rails.
Paint railroad signs, such as speed limits or gate-crossing warnings.
Spray ties, fishplates, or joints with oil to protect them from weathering.
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Related occupations.
Other roles in Process, plant and machine operatives, and roles close by exposure.
What it means for your sector.
This role's score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 task labels, weighted by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 through ISCO-08 (the ONS coding index) and US SOC 2010 (the BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional, which covers employees only.
Back to the mapMethodologySources (PDF)Built 29 April 2026
Pictures
- "Census pantograph and 1930s keypunches" by U.S. Census Bureau employees, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Shepard Barclay, St. Louis lawyer, in his office" by Missouri Historical Society via DPLA, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Accountant's Office LCCN2016824374" by National Photo Company Collection, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Employment service in Oulu in the spring 1931" by Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons