Extreme heat causes local road buckles

Excessive heat slowed down the Tuesday morning drive for hundreds of drivers on I-380. Road buckles were to blame.

When the joints below the concrete surface heat up and expand, they don't have anywhere to go but up, ripping up the concrete and causing hazards for drivers.

With local temperatures soaring, the Cedar Rapids Public Works department and the Iowa Department of Transportation expect road buckles to continue throughout the week, predicting the worst on Thursday. Unfortunately, there's not much crews can do other than fix the road after it happens.

“Some of them are just a few pop-ups, others when it heaves it up for a few inches, that's a safety concern for motorists,” said Transportation Planner for the Iowa Department of Transportation Catherine Cutler.

Cars were crawling on I-380 on Tuesday morning with traffic down to one lane northbound just south of the Swisher and Shueyville exit. Later in the evening, another buckle on I-80 slowed southbound traffic near Wilson Ave.

But road buckles don't just happen on the interstate. The corner of H and Oakland Avenue in Cedar Rapids also cracked due to the heat on Tuesday afternoon.

“In the middle of the intersection there was a concrete blow-out that was greater than five feet long,” said Cedar Rapids Public Works Maintenance Manager Craig Hanson.

Bends, curves and older roads are most susceptible to blow-ups, or other heat expansion problems. Expecting excessively high temperatures, crews try to prevent the driving hazards by doing seal coat applications and other measures.

“When they aren't working on blow-outs we do other concrete repairs,” said Hanson. “It just happens. It normally happens between four and six in the afternoon. That's when you'll really have to watch out.”

But most of buckles can't be avoided.

“When Mother Nature gives us these temperatures, there's not much else we can do,” said Cutler.

The Iowa DOT budgets $400,000 to repair blow-ups that take about 10,000 hours of manpower each year.  Cedar Rapids Public works also budgets for the repairs and allows for flexible scheduling knowing they'll need more workers to stay on top of construction.