NueCareer

AI and jobs

Will AI Replace Highway Maintenance Workers? (2026)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places highway maintenance workers in its low AI exposure category, among the occupations least exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to change by +3.4% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 11,800 openings a year.

Short answer

Very unlikely. BLS rates highway maintenance workers among the occupations least exposed to AI, and most of the work is the kind current AI tools cannot do.

BLS AI exposure
LowBLS EP supplemental table
AI-resilience score
68/100Higher than 96% of jobs · NueCareer
Projected change
+3.4%BLS EP 2025–2035; all jobs 3.5%
Openings a year
11,800BLS EP 2025–2035

The federal measure

How exposed highway maintenance workers are to AI

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a relative AI exposure category for each occupation it projects, built from five public measures of where AI could be, or already is, used to assist with or complete the work. Highway Maintenance Workers land in the low category: among the occupations least exposed to current AI.

Where this job sits on the BLS scale

786 occupations in the NueCareer bank, in BLS's four relative categories; width shows how many fall in each

  1. Low · this job203 occupations · 26%
  2. Moderate194 occupations · 25%
  3. High190 occupations · 24%
  4. Very high199 occupations · 25%

Source: BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories supplemental table.

  1. Exposure is relative. The categories rank occupations against each other; they are not a probability that a job is automated.
  2. BLS says exposure does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. A highly exposed job can still grow if AI makes the people in it more productive.
  3. The classification reflects AI capabilities as the underlying studies measured them. Read the BLS method and limitations.

Inside the work

What AI can and cannot do in this job

O*NET rates how important each work activity is to an occupation and how often each working condition comes up. The ratings below are the ones that move the job's NueCareer AI-resilience score the most: the ones that pull it up, and the ones that pull it down. Only ratings clearly above the midpoint count.

What holds up

Physical, hands-on and person-to-person work

  • Face-to-face discussions4.8/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level
  • Working outdoors in all weather4.9/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level
  • Assisting and caring for others3.9/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Performing for or working directly with the public4.0/5
    O*NET work activity, importance

What AI reaches first

Routine, repeatable and screen-based work

  • Repetitive motions4.2/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level
  • Getting information4.2/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Repeating the same tasks3.5/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level
  • Being exact or highly accurate4.1/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level

The tasks O*NET lists for highway maintenance workers

  • Drive heavy equipment and vehicles with adjustable attachments to sweep debris from paved surfaces, mow grass and weeds, remove snow and ice, and spread salt and sand.
  • Flag motorists to warn them of obstacles or repair work ahead.
  • Set out signs and cones around work areas to divert traffic.
  • Clean and clear debris from culverts, catch basins, drop inlets, ditches, and other drain structures.
  • Drive trucks to transport crews and equipment to work sites.
  • Dump, spread, and tamp asphalt, using pneumatic tampers, to repair joints and patch broken pavement.

O*NET 31.0 Database task statements, most important first.

The jobs

Will there still be jobs?

Exposure says where AI meets the work. The BLS projection says what the labor market is expected to do over 2025–2035. BLS projects +3.4% change in employment over the decade, against 3.5% across all occupations, and about 11,800 openings a year once retirements and career changes are counted. About 154,960 people work in the job today, at a median of $50,260 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Full highway maintenance worker profile: pay by state, entry route and skills

Options

Related careers that are also low-exposure

Careers O*NET lists as related to the work, or in the same field at similar pay, that BLS places in a low exposure category.

  1. Helpers--Extraction Worker

    Construction and Extraction

    Median pay
    $47,730median a year
    Growth
    +1.7%
    Openings / yr
    700
    Education
    High school
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    74/100
    resilience

    Help extraction craft workers, such as earth drillers, blasters and explosives workers, derrick operators, and mining machine operators, by performing duties requiring less skill.

  2. Construction Laborer

    Construction and Extraction

    Median pay
    $47,120median a year
    Growth
    +7.3%
    Openings / yr
    120,000
    Education
    No formal credential
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    72/100
    resilience

    Perform tasks involving physical labor at construction sites.

  3. Roofer

    Construction and Extraction

    Median pay
    $55,440median a year
    Growth
    +5.3%
    Openings / yr
    12,000
    Education
    No formal credential
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    72/100
    resilience

    Cover roofs of structures with shingles, slate, asphalt, aluminum, wood, or related materials.

  4. Operating Engineer and Other Construction Equipment Operator

    Construction and Extraction

    Median pay
    $59,850median a year
    Growth
    +4.6%
    Openings / yr
    39,200
    Education
    High school
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    70/100
    resilience

    Operate one or several types of power construction equipment, such as motor graders, bulldozers, scrapers, compressors, pumps, derricks, shovels, tractors, or front-end loaders to excavate, move, and grade earth, erec…

  5. Painter, Construction and Maintenance

    Construction and Extraction

    Median pay
    $49,400median a year
    Growth
    +3.0%
    Openings / yr
    24,900
    Education
    No formal credential
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    70/100
    resilience

    Paint walls, equipment, buildings, bridges, and other structural surfaces, using brushes, rollers, and spray guns.

  6. Sheet Metal Worker

    Construction and Extraction

    Median pay
    $61,800median a year
    Growth
    +2.5%
    Openings / yr
    9,800
    Education
    High school
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    70/100
    resilience

    Fabricate, assemble, install, and repair sheet metal products and equipment, such as ducts, control boxes, drainpipes, and furnace casings.

Will AI replace construction laborers?Will AI replace roofers?Will AI replace heavy equipment operators?Will AI replace house painters?Will AI replace sheet metal workers?

Questions

Will AI Replace Highway Maintenance Workers? FAQ

Will AI replace highway maintenance workers?

Very unlikely. BLS rates highway maintenance workers among the occupations least exposed to AI, and most of the work is the kind current AI tools cannot do. BLS defines exposure as AI being able to assist with or complete some of the work, and says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains or wage effects. BLS projects employment to change by +3.4% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 11,800 openings a year.

How exposed are highway maintenance workers to AI?

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Highway Maintenance Workers are in the low category, alongside 202 other occupations. The categories combine five public measures of where AI could be or already is used, and they compare occupations with each other rather than giving an absolute risk.

What parts of a highway maintenance worker's job can AI do?

In O*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are repetitive motions, getting information and repeating the same tasks. The parts that hold up best are face-to-face discussions, working outdoors in all weather and assisting and caring for others. These come from O*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method.

Is being a highway maintenance worker a safe career from AI?

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O*NET work activities, highway maintenance workers score 68 out of 100, higher than 96% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $50,260 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No job is fully safe from technological change, but the federal exposure category and the projected openings are the two numbers worth weighing.

What careers similar to highway maintenance workers are less exposed to AI?

Helpers--Extraction Worker (low exposure, $47,730 median), Construction Laborer (low exposure, $47,120 median), Roofer (low exposure, $55,440 median), Operating Engineer and Other Construction Equipment Operator (low exposure, $59,850 median). Each is also in the low category, and most are listed by O*NET as related to the work.

The AI exposure category is the Bureau of Labor Statistics'. The AI-resilience score and the activity breakdown are NueCareer's analysis of O*NET 31.0 Database data (method), not a federal figure. More: jobs most exposed to AI, jobs least exposed to AI, or check any job.