Pavement Buckles In Heat

Northwest Iowa — Weather-wise we appear to be out of the blast furnace for a while. Not only is that good for our health, our well-being and our pocketbooks, it’s also better for our roads.asphalt paving_sxc

When we were having the high temperatures a few days ago, some of our roads and highways couldn’t take the heat and started buckling. The Iowa Department of Transportation’s District 3 Transportation Planner, Dakin Schultz says that it takes the right combination of weather to create buckling pavement.


As far as the next few days, the weather looks pretty nice actually, but the six-to-ten-day outlook does call for above normal temperatures. Schultz says we could see some more pavement issues.


He says if you encounter a pavement buckle or “blowup,” you should call local law enforcement, and they will contact the appropriate crew to get the road repaired. He says you need to be careful driving when temperatures are high.


He says both asphalt and concrete pavement can have issues in the heat, and that maintenance crews put in 2000 to 4000 hours per year dealing with these issues. He says the repair costs almost $400,000 per year.

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