Missouri roads turning to ramps? Here’s what can cause pavement to buckle
A couple of drivers in Missouri didn’t plan on becoming stunt actors on the set of a movie, but they certainly got a taste of what it’s like over the weekend of June 20.
The extreme heat residents are facing in the state turned one road in Cape Girardeau, five hours southeast of Kansas City, into a mini-ramp. Video shared on social media aggregation website Storyful by Albert Blackwell on Sunday, June 22, shows multiple cars passing over what was first a small bump. Later in the video, the bump shifted and buckled just before a car was about to drive over it, causing the vehicle to go airborne for a second.
Blackwell said to Storyful that he had been filming a bulge in the road at the time.
“When I went back to get a front angle of cars going over the smaller buckle, the road exploded and rose over 18 inches, sending a car airborne,” Blackwell said.
Pavement blow-ups and road buckles are impossible to forecast, so it’s difficult to quantify how common they are, the Missouri Department of Transportation said. However, they are more common in periods of excessive heat. Cape Girardeau experienced a high temperature of 95 degrees on June 22, and it was 95 degrees the previous day, according to the Weather Channel.
Here’s what can cause the road to buckle and what drivers should do if they see it happen in person.
What causes the road to buckle?
There isn’t a specific breaking point that causes a road to buckle, but it’s a combination of factors, said Ryan McMonigle, spokesperson for Kansas City’s Public Works division.
“Rather than one isolated high temperature day, road buckling occurs more so as a result of continued high temperatures or rapid temperature swings,” he said.
Moisture and weakening pavement also play a role in roads buckling, MoDOT said. When solid materials, like concrete, are heated, they expand. You start to see cracks in the roadways from the constant expansion, which allows moisture to get inside. The age of the concrete may also play a role, MoDOT engineer Becky Allmeroth said to news outlet Missourinet.
“It is the perfect storm for that concrete to expand, and especially with older concrete, it can’t take the pressure,” she said. “And a lot of times it will just pop very spectacularly like that video did.”
The pavement becomes weaker because of the crack, and as the cracks continue to grow, the heat can cause the road to warp and become a little more dangerous for drivers.
What should you do if you see a road buckle?
If you see a road buckle, report it.
If a Kansas City-maintained street buckled, Public Works would be responsible for fixing it, McMonigle said. He said if Kansas City drivers were to ever encounter a road buckling situation, they should slow down and report the damage to 311 or on the MyKCMO app. Street maintenance crews will address the report as soon as possible.
You can also report damages on state-maintained roads like Interstate I-70 to MoDOT by calling 1-888-275-6636 or using the “Report a Road Concern” form on modot.org. Be sure to include the damaged location.
MoDOT said crews will have to remove the damaged pavement and replace it with a temporary asphalt patch or a permanent concrete patch (if they replace it with a temporary patch, they will schedule a time for a permanent concrete repair.)
The damaged lane will be shut down for a few hours, but both MoDOT and McMonigle also say drivers should try to switch lanes if they can do so safely.
