LAYTON—Rising temperatures caused some trouble on US-89 Monday when the road buckled under the heat in the far right southbound travel lane before SR-193 in Layton. 

“It’s unpredictable,” said Mitch Shaw, Senior Communication Manager Utah Department of Transportation | Region 1. “Drivers usually see it before we do and call us.”

It’s outside of the 89 reconstruction area, he said. “It’s not on the new pavement.” 

Some of the roads are 15 years old, said Shaw. “But we don’t usually expect that in 15 years.”

The concrete is made to expand in the heat, he said. “It expands so it won’t crack. There are joints every few feet in the concrete so typically the concrete contracts and expands with the heat.”

Over time the older a road gets, road grit gets into the joints, Shaw said. “When it expands there is nowhere to go but up. The concrete heaves and creates a mound. They’re dangerous so we get out there immediately. If the public sees one they should call us or even 911. Depending on the severity it can be an emergency.”

There was another one at 5600 South on I-15, he said. “We’re seeing it happen more often as it gets hotter. We usually start seeing it at the beginning of July. We can’t predict when or where so we have to be reactive.”

The road expands at night so usually it cools off enough to retract again, Shaw said. “But it’s not getting cool enough. Mother Nature causes it.”

Shaw said to repair a buckle, crews cut out a concrete square however big it is. “They fill it with asphalt. It usually takes two to four hours. The good thing is that it can be repaired pretty quickly. Last year it got really hot in September and the northbound lanes buckled.”