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Traffic might have slowed down out near Canberra Airport, but construction crews working off-road said their machines will be in overdrive until 2016.

Amid the hype of activity more than 60 heavy earth-movers operate on the site daily as well as about 30 trucks and carting vehicles.

“We're out there 10 hours-a-day, six days-a-week dozing, scraping, rolling and grading,” plant operator Joshua Firth said.

Some of the workers involved in the parkway project said the best part of the job was getting behind the wheel of a machine with the capacity to knock down a house.

“It's a lot of fun, operating all the different types of machinery, it's a non-stop challenge,” plant operator Troy Weeks said.

Even after 40 years in the industry, working with the machines was still a source of enjoyment, according to grader driver Leslie Jackson.

“I'm out in the open, I'm not locked up in a factory or an office and that's the way I like it. I've liked it enough to do this job nearly all my life,” he said.

Matthew Rodden, foreman for Hewatt earthworks, said whether he was driving machines or supervising them, the most satisfying aspect of the job was having the ability to see their achievements while they progressed.

“I'm in a managing position now, but I was a grader driver before that, it was the best job, you're at the top of the food chain in that machine,” he said.

The workers said although they enjoyed the ride, many people didn't understand the challenges and complexities involved with machine operation.

“If people driving past just see machines going up and down the road, they think it's as easy as picking up a big pile of dirt and putting it somewhere else, well, they'd be wrong,” Mr Weeks said.

“Last month we moved about 156,000 cubic metres of earth and it takes a lot of strategic planning to deal with those volumes. I can't even put it in perspective for someone not in the industry, all I'll say is, well, it's a lot of dirt,” he said.

While the workers had different ideas about what made the job enjoyable they collectively agreed Canberra's winter was what made it difficult.

Getting out of bed in the morning and knowing they would be out with the fog and the frost didn't inspire the greatest feeling of motivation, according to Mr Rodden.

“You learn to wear a lot of layers, and those that don't get out of Canberra quick-smart,” he said.

"But I'll tell you a secret, I'm sure part of the reason these boys love their machines so much is because they all have heaters.”