The Ultimate Guide to Road Plates

Road plates are necessary to cover up temporary excavations, holes, and trenches. Here at Oxford Plastics, we have the perfect solution for you. Our comprehensive guide tells you everything you need to know about road plates.

Why are road plates used?

Road plates are intended to provide a temporary road solution for broken road areas, where pedestrians, traffic, or machinery would need to access. They can be used in various situations, including carriageways as well as sidewalk areas. Our heavy-duty road plates can carry a 97,000lbs vehicle and are available with skid-resistant surfaces.

How much do road plates weigh?

We specialize in creating lightweight road plates that can take up to a 97,000 lbs vehicle. Our composite road plates are considerably lighter than steel road plates, and can be manually installed without the need for heavy machinery.
However, the weight of the plate will depend on the size thickness of the plate needed to cover the excavation, whilst providing a safe load bearing capacity

Steel road plates vs plastic road plates

Typically, composite road plates offer far more benefits than a traditional steel road plate – for example, they offer less noise pollution, they are easier to transport and store. Another issue with steel plates is their tendency to warp and bend over time – our composite plastic plates are far more durable, as they do not change shape over time.

Some more reasons why our plastic road plates are more useful include:

Less manpower: plastic plates are far lighter than steel plates and require less people to install them.
No need for heavy machinery: with steel plates, it’s more likely that big machines will be required for the installation process. However, with plastic plates this isn’t necessary – providing an easy and quick installation time.
Less time consuming: installing steel plates take far much more time than plastic road plates and, in some places (such as New York), you can even receive fines if potholes and excavations aren’t covered up within the specified timeframe.
Save money: due to its durability and easy installation process, plastic road plates are likely to save businesses money in the long run.

Types of road plates

Here at Oxford Plastics, we offer a wide range of road plates – you can choose from our Road Plate range – including the LowPro 23/05 and the LowPro 15/05, while our LowPro selection provides a range of trench covers, including LowPro 15/10 and LowPro 12/8.
You can browse more of our popular range of products now, or read about how clients have found our products helpful in the case studies. Contact our team for more information today.