It's a robot that destroys everything in its path with a crushing stream of water 15 times more powerful than a jackhammer.
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Sound like the latest Transformer or comic book villain?
Actually, it's the hydrodemolition robot - a high-pressure water tool that will soon whip several Gordon Highway bridges into shape.
The robot is concrete's worst nightmare but a dream come true for the Georgia Department of Transportation.
"I don't think we've ever had anything like that over in Augusta," said Vonda Everitt, of the Georgia DOT, referring to the robot. "It's going to be a really neat project."
The robot looks like a street cleaner machine on steroids and is expected to begin use Aug. 1 to resurface seven bridges on Gordon Highway from Walton Way to the bridge at the South Carolina state line.
"It doesn't look like your typical cartoon-looking robot," said Rusty Merritt, of the Georgia DOT.
The work, which will be done by Gilbert Southern for nearly $3.3 million, will last until Dec. 31 and will begin on the eastbound bridges first.
At that time, eastbound traffic will use one side of the westbound lanes. Work will cease on Labor Day weekend and start back up on the westbound bridges, allowing two-way traffic only in the eastbound lanes.
The hydrodemolition robot is still considered relatively new technology, having first been used in 1984. Today, the device is used mostly in the Northeast but its popularity is growing throughout the country, said Bob Carvajales, vice president of Woma Corp. in New Jersey, a distributor of the robots.
"It's moving on now to states like yourself because they're seeing the benefits," he said.
Mr. Carvajales said there are many benefits of a hydrodemolition robot. He said the robot operates on its own after someone programs directions into it, telling it where to go and how much concrete to remove.
The machine also produces less noise and dust than a jackhammer, is more powerful than a jackhammer and requires only about two people to supervise it.
Mrs. Everitt said the hydrodemolition robot helps the DOT because it removes faulty concrete but leaves good concrete behind.
Mr. Carvajales said the robot is powered by diesel fuel and has water fed to it from a pressurized pump. The robot travels where it is programmed to go and shoots a stream of water onto pavement at about 40 to 60 gallons per minute.
Mr. Carvajales said the strong, steady stream of water causes a "hydraulic explosion" in the concrete rather than vibrating the concrete loose, as a jackhammer does. Demolition by vibration, Mr. Carvajales said, is often bad for the foundation of a road because "you could actually be creating what are called micro cracks somewhere down the road."
The water is not left behind.
"Once the thing gets the water down and pulverized the concrete, workers come behind it with a vacuum truck," Mr. Merritt said. The water is then taken to a treatment site.
Water does not harm the robot. "Weather doesn't affect it, and it doesn't get tired," Mr. Carvajales said. "As long as you give it fuel, it continues to go."
Reach Preston Sparks at (706) 828-3904 or preston.sparks@augustachronicle.com.
