Road buckling is a common occurrence when summer temperatures rise. There have been two cases of road buckling within the last two weeks locally. Both cases were on highway W38, one north of 170th Street, the other near highway 92. Washington County Engineer Jacob Thorius said as with anything, heat causes things to expand and even as rigid as concrete seems to be, it does so as well. There’s not much that can be done to prevent it from happening, though good drainage can help keep moisture from causing problems under roads.

When they do get blowouts, as Thorius called it, the first thing they do is put a temporary patch on the road called a cold patch. They then return to it later for more permanent work. Thorius hopes having two blowouts so early in the summer isn’t a bad sign of things to come, since buckling is most common in July and August.