You might think ice and snow are the arch nemeses of mid-Michigan's roads, but this summer's intense heat could give winter a run for its money.
"In the extreme heat that we had we did have a situation where the pavement failed," Kari Arend, with the Michigan Department of Transportation, said.
When concrete gets hot, it expands, and at the point where two pieces of concrete meet, called a joint, that expansion can cause a bump in the road.
"When motorists drive over that, it actually splinters the pavement, creates pieces, and if those pieces are too big, that's something we have to immediately remove off the roadway," Arend said.
It happened on the southbound US 127 exit to Trowbridge Road, and it could happen elsewhere.
"Generally they are the older pavements that this occurs on, pavements that have a longer service life than others," Arend said.
Michigan has plenty of old roads, so if in the dead heat of summer you see the pavement buckling, give MDOT, or, in extreme cases, the police, a call.
"Safety is our number one priority, so we'll do an immediate fix as needed and hopefully a longer term repair soon," Arend said.
Eventually older roads like the Trowbridge exit will have to be ripped up and replaced. Until then, MDOT says to treat buckling roads like you do potholes. Drive carefully around them, and if they look extreme or dangerous, let the authorities know.
