Underground Infrastructure - April 2023 - 49

Oxford Plastic's Innovative Road Plate Covers Earn Approval
of New York Authorities
Leading innovator and manufacturer of site safety
equipment Oxford Plastics has had its Oxford LowPro
road plate covers approved by New York authorities.
LowPro 23/05, which was designed and developed
by the UK company to comply with HS20-44
standards, has been successfully trialed in one of the
most taxing construction environments in the USA.
The New York Department of Transport needed an alternative to steel plates.
" The metal plates being used within New York city can cause major noise pollution problems, "
said Peter Creighton, business development director for Oxford Plastics. " A 'rocking effect' causes
a lot of noise as traffic passes over them. In built up areas, such as in Manhattan, the sound
reverberates and causes major complaints by residents and business owners. "
Also, the steel plates are very heavy and difficult to maneuver.
The Oxford LowPro 23/05 road plate system is a heavy-duty modular road plate system made
up of linking plates, meaning it is suitable for 97,000 pounds of vehicles over a 48-inch trench.
Each section of these road plates weighs 145 pounds, which is far lighter than a steel plate.
And it is easier to maneuver by a team of two workers using the EasiLift handles to carry and
install a plate by hand in minutes, rather than expensive powered heavy lifting equipment.
Underneath the Oxford LowPro 23/05 are two sets of lateral locks that drop into place when
the road plate is installed on the trench, sitting on either side to prevent lateral movement.
The Oxford LowPro 23/05 road plate is currently used in residential areas, on roadways and
utility sites partially because of its noise dampening edges. The patented product reduces noise
by absorbing sound, as the rubber-edges are far softer than steel - eliminating that harsh, loud
clang when traffic drives over the top.
Oxford Plastics' composite road plate is also more eco-friendly than the traditional steel plate.
Specifically, with steel plates contractors need to use cold patch as a ramp. This cold patch
leaches oil when it rains, which then travels into storm drains and then local water bodies.
The Oxford LowPro 23/05 traffic plates have ramped edges, and they can be anchored into
place. They can also be transported with far smaller vehicles than steel plates and installed
without powered heavy lifting equipment.
The LowPro range being an engineered alternative to steel plates, not only solving all issues
found with traditional road plates, but reducing fines, saving time and reducing carbon emissions. "
After demonstrating the features and benefits to the New York Department of Transport,
a 3,000-hour replacement interval - 50-percent
more than the previous design - and provides
improved filtration performance.
When cutting through tough material,
standard Auto Dig Boost delivers an 8-percent
power increase for better bucket penetration,
shorter cycle times, and greater payloads. Auto
Heavy Lift offers an 8-percent increase in lifting
power, for as long as needed.
Cat D1, D2 and D3 Next Generation small
dozers now offer an improved suite of operator-assist
and remote-control-ready features
to increase efficiency, performance and
productivity in the field.
Expanding on existing technologies, the new
Stable Blade Lift and Tilt improves performance
over Stable Blade. The feature combines accelerthe
product was put through very stringent testing and field trials over a four-year period. This
proved the product met the standards required to be deployed on New York City streets and
would be the solution to the ongoing noise pollution issues. UI
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Oxford Plastics USA, (800) 362-0559, oxfordplastics.com
ometers with an advanced control algorithm to
automatically make minor blade raise, lower, and
left/right tilt commands to compensate for machine
movement, resulting in a smoother surface.
Operator-selected Low Slip Traction Control
automatically prevents excessive track slip to
increase machine efficiency, while reducing
operator burden.
Working in unison with other operator-assist
features, AutoCarry automatically raises and
lowers the dozer blade to maximize pushing
capability and prevent excessive track slippage.
These dozers also offer a Cat Command for
dozing Remote Control (RC) ready option, plus
added mounting features and wire harness routing
paths, to streamline installation of third-party
Grade control systems.
The company also launched four battery electric
machine prototypes: 301.9 mini excavator,
320 medium excavator, 950 GC medium wheel
loader, and 906 compact wheel loader. These
models include an onboard AC charger. UI
UndergroundInfrastructure.com | APRIL 2023 49

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Underground Infrastructure - April 2023

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