Road Plate Securing Methods

Cold Mix

Relies on adhesion to secure the plate often resulting in shifting walking plates.
Must be replaced every time the plate is moved for work, inspections, or unintentional movement.
Was never intended to be a road plate securing device.
Does not mark or identify the road plate. No early warning for motorists or cyclists as color matches roadway.
Stockpiles of cold mix must be covered as the run-off must not enter a storm drain.
Labor intensive to install and remove.
Overall a significant risk of liability claims from shredded tires, cars in trench, trips, slips and falls.

Consistently marks, identifies and secures. No disposal of hazardous materials.
Eliminates shifting, walking and creeping of plate. Low maintenance.
Does not need to be removed to allow for work or inspections to be done.
Safety orange, re-usable, recyclable, cost effective. No clean-up and easy to transport.
Keeps multiple plates aligned and removes gaps that a cyclist’s tire can fall through.
Have a higher and lower working temperature than cold mix.
Overall a significant risk elimination of general liability claims from shredded tires, cars in trench, trips, slips, and falls.

Flush Mount

Must schedule in advance of job to make sure milling is complete before work begins.
Cost prohibitive. Cold mix must still be used to fill gaps between plate and milled edge.
Does not mark or identify the road plate. No early warning for motorists or cyclists as color matches roadway.
Stockpiles of cold mix must be covered as the run-off must not enter a storm drain.
Labor intensive to install and remove.

Plate Locks

COST

Why Plate Locks over Cold Mix or Flush Mount?

When it comes to securing your Plates, the smart choice is clear: our reusable ramps. Unlike cold mix, which is a one-time use product, our ramps are designed for repeated use, saving you time, money, and effort. Here’s why:

Cost-Effective in the Long Run: Cold mix may seem like a quick fix, but it’s a one-time solution. With our durable, reusable ramps, you only invest once—after a single use, they’ve already paid for themselves. Use them again and again, and watch your costs continue to drop.
Durability & Quality: Cold mix deteriorates over time, leading to more frequent purchases and added costs. Our ramps are engineered for long-term reliability, meaning no more ongoing expenses for replacements.
Easy to Store & Transport: Our ramps are designed for convenience. Unlike bulky cold mix that can be messy and hard to handle, our ramps are easy to store and transport, ready to use whenever you need them.
Sustainability: Choose a solution that’s better for both your wallet and the environment. Reusing ramps reduces waste and reliance on disposable products like cold mix, making it a more eco-friendly choice.

OUR GOAL

Mark, Identify, and Secure Road Plates

Plate Locks, an American manufactured product, are a direct replacement to using cold patch asphalt or flush mounting the plate. They are intended to reduce costs, work zone accidents, injuries and contractor liabilities by consistently marking, identifying and securing road construction plates. Plate Locks safety orange colored road plate ramps are placed around the perimeter of the road plate and mechanically fastened to the roadway with concrete anchors.

This innovative product makes cold patch trench plate securing a thing of the past and reduces your liability while increasing public safety whenever there is a need to use steel road plates in pipeline, gas line, water line construction or any type of utility construction cuts in the road. Never have another sleepless night wondering if your trench plates have shifted, or walked again.

Plate Locks road plate ramps can be left in place when steel road plates are removed to allow work to be done in the trench or for inspections. When the work or inspection is done simply replace the steel plate. There is no need to re-install the Plate Locks road plate ramps. Compare that to needing to replace cold patch every time the road plate is moved and you quickly see you have a winning alternative to traditional methods of securing trench plates.

Plate Locks road plate ramps increase safety for utility contractors, motorists and cyclists while reducing liability. They are safety orange and can be clearly seen by motorists and cyclists, easily alerting them to the steel road plate in their driving lane. The orange wedge shaped road plate ramp design creates a safe transition over the road plate for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians thus eliminating accidents. The utility contractor will spend less than half the time in the road installing Plate Locks road plate ramps than using other methods like cold patch, flush mounting or pinning plates. This has been said so many times…

Plate Locks road plate ramps pay for themselves the first time they’re used and will save you a lot of money in labor costs because they can be installed or removed in a fraction of the time it takes a crew to throw down or remove cold patch. And the best news is you can use them over and over again!