Right-of-way land is an easement property which has been reserved for transportation purposes, such as a highway, public pedestrian walkways, rail transport, canal, utility lines, or oil and gas pipelines. This right-of-way on the property is reserved for the purposes of maintenance or expansion of existing services. Right-of-way work involves maintaining safe traffic flow, which is a concern not typically considered in other types of land clearing jobs.
In many cases, right-of-way land is characterized by steep hills and embankments, which present serious challenges for those tasked with clearing or maintaining this property. Job demands, difficult terrain, finish, and maintenance requirements will dictate what equipment capabilities will be required for the job.
Right-of-way jobs require a wide range of right-of-way clearing equipment to tackle the variety of terrain. Fence line work, detail work, and heavy grasses can be managed using Fecon compact land clearing tractors with mulching head attachments. Fecon tree shear attachments are effective for thinning, while Fecon excavator mounted mulchers are suited for selective tree cutting. Large-scale, high volume projects are best served by Fecon’s larger tracked mulching tractors with stump grinders and forestry millers, which will provide a workable finish and maximize acres-per-day productivity. The FTX200 mulching tractor is built for exactly this kind of high volume clearing, running 200 horsepower to keep production up on the largest jobs. Land mulching handles most of that clearing in a single pass.
To optimize productivity and efficiency, the right equipment must be selected for the type of work to be done and the variety of terrain most commonly found in the right-of-way work area. The best attachments and undercarriage selections will enhance the cost-efficiency of right-of-way clearing machines.
Red Line Attachments for Compact Carriers
Not every right-of-way job needs a dedicated mulching tractor. Fence line work, access road maintenance, detail work around structures and cleanup behind a mulcher are often better handled by a skid steer, mini skid steer or excavator already on site. Fecon Red Line attachments turn those carriers into clearing machines.
- Brush cutter for skid steers, 60″ and 74″ models, 10-50 GPM
- Brush cutter for excavators, for reach work on slopes and embankemnts
- Brush cutter for mini skid steers, for tight access and detail work
- Brush grapple for skid steers, for handling brush and debris after cutting
- Log grapple for mini skid steers, the LG57 with 360 degree rotation
- Felling saw, the FS38, cutting trees up to 14″ per pass
- Trim Ex tree saw, trimming overhanging limbs up to 26 ft from the cab
- Rotating grapple, 60 inch opening and 9,000 lb capacity
See the full Red Line attachment lineup.
What makes right-of-way terrain different
Narrow corridors and restricted access
A right-of-way is a defined strip, and everything has to happen inside it. There is usually no room to work around an obstacle and often no way in except along the corridor. That rewards machines that can work from one position and reach out, and it penalises anything that needs space to turn. It is also why a skid steer or excavator already on the job is frequently a better answer than mobilising a dedicated carrier for a short stretch.
Slopes and embankments
Highway and rail corridors are cut and filled, which leaves banks that are steep, uneven and often soft. Working a carrier across a slope puts the machine at risk and tears up the ground. An excavator with a brush cutter on the boom works from stable ground at the top or bottom and reaches into the bank, which removes the problem rather than managing it. For tracked carriers, undercarriage choice matters: an oscillating undercarriage keeps track contact on uneven ground where a rigid one does not. Where the growth is woody, an excavator mulcher such as the CEM36 on an 8 to 15 ton machine grinds trees up to 6 inches from the same position.
Traffic, structures and what is overhead
Right-of-way work involves maintaining safe traffic flow, which is not a concern on most land clearing jobs. Material has to stay inside the corridor, which favours mulching over cutting and removing, because mulch stays where it falls. Around signage, guardrail, poles and structures the job becomes detail work rather than production work, and the machine that clears acres fast is the wrong one for the last three feet.
Types of right-of-way and what each one needs
The widest variety of work in one job. Shoulders and ditch lines need regular mowing, embankments need periodic reclamation, and sight lines at junctions and signage need detail work. Traffic control is a constant, which favours mulching over any method that leaves material to be hauled out. Most highway contracts run a mulching tractor for the production work and a skid steer with a brush cutter for everything the tractor cannot reach.
Rail corridors
Narrow, long and often with restricted access windows between train movements. Ballast and rail furniture mean the machine works close to fixed obstacles and cannot afford to throw material. Drainage on rail corridors depends on ditch lines staying clear, so vegetation control is a maintenance requirement rather than a cosmetic one.
Pipeline corridors
Usually rural, frequently crossing terrain with no road access, and with a requirement to keep the corridor visible for aerial and ground inspection. The finish standard matters: inspectors need to see the ground. Mulching to a consistent height across a long corridor is the job, which rewards a dedicated carrier with the flow to keep production up over distance. On open, rural ground like this, a skid steer disc mulcher such as the Fecon Disc Hawk fells and mulches standing trees quickly.
Fence lines and property boundaries
The most common job on this list and the one least suited to a large machine. A fence line is a narrow strip against a fixed obstacle you cannot damage. A skid steer or mini skid steer with a brush cutter works here because it can get close, and a brush grapple handles what comes off without a second pass.
Access roads and easements
Easements exist so somebody can get in. Keeping them passable is recurring work rather than a one-off clear, and the standard is usually access rather than appearance. That makes it a good fit for attachments on a carrier the contractor already owns, rather than equipment brought in for the job.
Whichever corridor you work, the attachment usually matters more than the carrier. See the full Red Line attachment lineup.
FECON’S RIGHT-OF-WAY CLEARING LINE UP:
FTX150-2 Mulching Tractor
- Cummins 3.8L tier 4 final, stage V engine
- Fecon Power Management® system
- Large, lockable service door on engine compartment
- Dual engine air cleaner with pre-cleaner
- Hydraulically driven reversing fans engine & hydraulic cooler
- D3 undercarriage with 20″ single grouser tracks (SALT)
- Spacious pressurized cab with suspension seat & adjustable joystick pods
FTX200 Mulching Tractor
- NET HORSEPOWER: 200HP
- OPERATING WEIGHT: 26,714 lb / 12117 kg
- MULCHING CIRCUIT HYDRAULICS:
80 gpm / 5000psi - CUMMINS 4.5 STAGE 5 ENGINE
- FECON POWER MANAGEMENT™
- Aggressive Lift Height; below grade range; superior tilt rotation
- Even Weight Distribution front to back
- Wide and Low Angle Visibility
- STANDARD HEAD: RK8620 Bull Hog tractor mulching head.
FTX300 Mulching Tractor
- Oscillating Undercarriage with 30” Track Shoes
- Front Mount Lift Height 44” Under Cutting Tools
- Large Tilting Cab for Service Access
- Wide Engine Compartment Doors Sides and Rear
- Air Suspension, Heated Seat
- Large 7” Touchscreen Display
- Keyless Ignition with Security
- Factory Service Remote Connectivity Standard
- IQAN controls with Fecon Power Management
- 10″ In-cab Rear View Screen
FTX600 Mulching Tractor
- Cummins 600hp QSX15 Tier III engine
- Sauer Hydraulic Pumps controlled by Fecon’s Power Management System
- IQAN Machine Operating System
- High Reach Lift
- Impressive power and performance
- Oscillating all steel undercarriage and selectable float control
- Service-oriented design
- Tinted polycarbonate windows
- Rear view large screen camera
BHP270 Power Pack
- Powermanagement® microcontroller
- Sustained peak grinding power
- Reduced fuel consumption
- Dramatically improves engine response
- No power loss due to accessories
- Captures full potential of grinding power and delivers superior performance
Contact Fecon to discuss your right-of-way clearing and maintenance equipment needs!
