Somewhat Resilient
Last Update: 6/19/2026
AI Resilience Score for Highway Maint. Workers:
49.7%
Median Score
Meaningful human contribution
Measures the parts of the occupation that still require a human touch. This score averages data from up to four AI exposure datasets, focusing on the role’s resilience against automation.
High
Long-term employer demand
Predicts the health of the job market for this role through 2034. Using Bureau of Labor Statistics data, it balances projected annual job openings (60%) with overall employment growth (40%).
Med
Sustained economic opportunity
Measures future earning potential and career flexibility. This score is a blend of total projected labor income (67%) and the role’s inherent ability to adapt to economic and technological shifts (33%).
Low
This reflects the reliability of your score based on the number of data sources available for this career and how closely those sources agree on the outlook. A higher confidence means more consistent evidence from labor experts and AI models.
There are a reasonable number of sources for this result, but there is some disagreement between them.
Contributing sources
AI Resilience Report forHighway Maintenance Workers
$49,070 median salary•12,300 annual openings•SOC Code: 47-4051.00
Highway Maintenance Workers are somewhat less resilient to AI impacts than most occupations, according to our analysis of 6 sources.
Highway maintenance is "Somewhat Resilient" because AI is genuinely changing how this work gets done, even if it is not eliminating the jobs themselves. Tools like AI-powered pothole detection and smarter equipment are taking over the inspection and routing tasks that workers used to handle manually, which means the job is shifting toward more hands-on, physical work like actually patching pavement, operating heavy machinery, and managing traffic control in real conditions.
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View analysisChat with CoachLatest newsMore career infoAnalysisChatNewsMoreThis role is somewhat resilient
Highway maintenance is "Somewhat Resilient" because AI is genuinely changing how this work gets done, even if it is not eliminating the jobs themselves. Tools like AI-powered pothole detection and smarter equipment are taking over the inspection and routing tasks that workers used to handle manually, which means the job is shifting toward more hands-on, physical work like actually patching pavement, operating heavy machinery, and managing traffic control in real conditions.
Read full analysisAnalysis of Current AI Resilience
Highway Maint. Workers
Updated Quarterly
How is AI changing Highway Maint. Workers jobs?
Good news first: highway maintenance is one of those hands-on jobs where AI is mostly helping workers, not replacing them. Most of the action right now is in detection and inspection — letting computers spot problems faster so crews know where to go. For example, fleet management company Samsara has trained an AI model called "Ground Intelligence" that uses cameras on millions of trucks to detect multiple types of potholes and gauge how fast they are deteriorating, and the city of Chicago recently signed on as a customer (TechCrunch [1]).
Researchers at Purdue have built a similar system called PaveX where, in pilots across Indiana, the AI yielded pavement condition results within ±5 points of an experienced human evaluator while avoiding individual subjectivity across inspections (ASCE Civil Engineering [2]). On the repair side, equipment is getting smarter too — a new Cimline spray-injection pothole truck [3] lets a single operator patch a hole in two minutes using joystick controls from inside the cab. The Transportation Research Board's Autonomous Maintenance Technologies Phase 2 program [4] is also expanding research into autonomous crack sealing, mowing, and snow plowing, all aimed at improving worker safety and addressing workforce shortages.
Sources
How fast is AI adoption growing for Highway Maint. Workers?
Adoption is moving steadily but carefully. A national AASHTO survey of 50+ state DOTs [5] found that the biggest challenges to AI deployment are data quality (76%), security (69%), and reliability (61%), with workforce skills gaps (56%) and implementation costs (47%) also slowing progress. Importantly, agencies are framing AI as augmentation, not replacement: a Delaware DOT official noted that many fear AI will eliminate jobs, but he believes it will instead allow state DOT workforces to become more productive.
The big push is on safety — Roads & Bridges reports [6] that AI is helping turn individual smart work zones into coordinated, system-wide safety strategies that warn drivers and protect crews. The skills that stay valuable are exactly the human ones: physically patching pavement, operating heavy equipment in messy weather, judging unsafe conditions on a real worksite, and setting up traffic control around live traffic. AI can find the pothole and route the truck — but a person still has to fill it.
Sources
Will AI replace Highway Maint. Workers?
Not entirely. We think AI will take over some tasks, but not the whole job.
Highway maintenance sits at a 49.7% AI Resilience Score, which tells you this career is changing in real ways, but it is far from disappearing. Right now, AI is mostly handling detection and inspection work: systems like Samsara's "Ground Intelligence" use cameras on trucks to spot potholes and track how fast they are getting worse [1], while research tools can evaluate pavement condition close to what an experienced human inspector would find [2]. That frees up crews to focus on actual repairs rather than scouting for problems.
The physical work stays human. Patching pavement, operating heavy equipment in bad weather, reading a dangerous worksite in real time, and setting up traffic control around live traffic are all things AI cannot reliably do yet. A national survey of state DOTs found agencies are framing AI as a productivity tool, not a replacement, with one official saying it will help workforces become more productive rather than smaller [5].
The honest caveat is that wages and career flexibility in this field are under real pressure, so the economic picture is tighter than the job security picture. The role is evolving, and workers who get comfortable with smarter equipment and data tools will be better positioned than those who do not.
Sources
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Latest AI news for Highway Maint. Workers
These articles highlight how AI is transforming the highway maintenance sector, offering both challenges and opportunities for future workers. For instance, Amey's integration of FYLD's AI technology aims to enhance maintenance workflows, suggesting a future where tech-savvy workers will be in demand. Additionally, the partnership between Honda and the Ohio Department of Transportation shows that AI can improve road safety through better hazard detection. Embracing AI can help highway maintenance workers adapt and thrive in an evolving job landscape, fostering resilience in their careers.
AI 'starting to impact' graduate entry-level jobs
www.highwaysmagazine.co.uk • 3/23/2026
The highways and transport sector is starting to see fewer graduate entry-level roles 'because of the advent of AI', industry leaders have...
Amey integrates FYLD's AI tech to 'transform' maintenance workflows
www.highwaysmagazine.co.uk • 3/13/2026
Amey has partnered with intelligence platform FYLD to deploy the company's AI technology across its highways division, with plans to...
Honda has invented an AI heads-up about potholes and road hazards
www.uc.edu • 1/29/2026
National transportation writers highlight a UC research project with Honda and the Ohio Department of Transportation to use vehicle sensors...
Chair of the Transport Select Committee Says AI will ‘Turbocharge’ Britain’s Road and Rail Network
www.bbntimes.com • 1/14/2026
The UK government will continue to invest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital technology to improve Britain's road and rail network,...
Will AI Take Your Job: Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s Cautious Warning
www.noradarealestate.com • 7/5/2025
Powell warns that AI will make “significant changes” to the economy and labor market, potentially displacing jobs before creating new opportunities.
More Career Info
Career: Highway Maintenance Workers
They keep roads safe and smooth by fixing potholes, clearing debris, and painting road lines.
Parent Careers
Employment & Wage Data
Median Wage
$49,070
Jobs (2024)
159,100
Growth (2024-34)
+3.0%
Annual Openings
12,300
Education
High school diploma or equivalent
Experience
None
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2024-2034
Task-Level AI Resilience Scores
AI-generated estimates of task resilience over the next 3 years
1
Flag motorists to warn them of obstacles or repair work ahead.
2
Erect, install, or repair guardrails, road shoulders, berms, highway markers, warning signals, and highway lighting, using hand tools and power tools.
3
Dump, spread, and tamp asphalt, using pneumatic tampers, to repair joints and patch broken pavement.
4
Haul and spread sand, gravel, and clay to fill washouts and repair road shoulders.
5
Remove litter and debris from roadways, including debris from rock and mud slides.
6
Set out signs and cones around work areas to divert traffic.
7
Perform preventative maintenance on vehicles and heavy equipment.
Tasks are ranked by their AI resilience, with the most resilient tasks shown first. Core tasks are essential functions of this occupation, while supplemental tasks provide additional context.
