Drivers Warned As Heat Causes Iowa Roads To Buckle

Isn't it a fun time of the year?

Let me remind you, we begged for this weather back when the high was -10. Now we're paying for that.

But besides making us really sweaty, the hot weather in Iowa this week is causing some issues on the roads. KWWL reports that a section of Highway 20 in Peosta buckled under the heat.

But Highway 20 isn't the only road with issues. Mitch Wood, Iowa DOT District 6 Maintenance Manager, said:

I would say about half a dozen of our maintenance garages in east central Iowa had crews out addressing these pavement heaves and blowups.

The buckle on Highway 20 was temporarily fixed on Sunday. There wasn't any car damage reported from it, but Iowa DOT is warning you to be on the lookout for buckles in the roads. Wood said:

Enough of a change where it can cause a ramping effect to vehicles or some of these where it's all about the pavement deterioration or crumbling. It could create severe potholes or even some exposed steel rebar that could cause damage to tires or vehicles.

Buckles happen because moisture under the road gets trapped by the heat then the road buckles as the moisture expands under the road.

So now, we're not only dealing with potholes but buckling roads too. Fun times.

If you see a buckle in the road, report it to either local law enforcement or the Iowa DOT.