Just four months after the prototype was unveiled on the Mid North Coast, the first commercial ShoulderMaster road widening attachment has been launched in Sydney.
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The award-winning machinery was developed by Wauchope-based company Stabilcorp and was unveilled on September 11 by Minister for Regional Development, Skills and Small Business John Barilaro.
The ShoulderMaster attaches to any skid steer and is expected to be popular due to its ability to quickly and safely repair dangerous narrow roads, crumbling edges and soft surfaces.
Stabilcorp's business manager and engineer Mark Pilgrim believes the attachment will revolutionise road safety, while helping to solve road maintenance funding shortfalls faced by councils nationwide.
"Road widening works with the ShoulderMaster are twice as cost effective and three times as fast as traditional methods, meaning councils can repair more roads with the same budget while minimising traffic disruption and improving safety," Mr Pilgrim said.
Managing Director Peta Pinson added that the technology would potentially save lives.
"A report to the federal government in May 2015 identified that half of the crashes on regional roads are single vehicle run off road crashes, which have been attributed to dangerous or unsealed road shoulders," she said.
"The report indicated that adding just one extra metre of gravel or asphalt to the shoulder of the road decreases the potential for run offs by 30 per cent."