Older Highways More Likely To Buckle Due To Old Design

According to MN-DOT, at least 15 sections of highway buckled today as the area saw record high temperatures.

Matt Zeller is Executive Director of the Concrete Paving Association of Minnesota; he says an old design element plays a major role in which highways will buckle and which will not. Zeller says older highways had fewer cuts in the concrete to allow for expansion. Fewer cuts result in greater expansion and contraction in hot and cold months.

On hot days without enough joints, the pressure that can build in a slab is enough to crumble the concrete. In cold months, the joints open more and can allow for sand and dirt to fill in, which in turn prevents the slab from being able to expand when hot weather returns.

Zeller says older highways can have expansion joints cut every 27 or 39 feet. Newer highways have cuts every 15 feet.

Updated: 06/07/2011 11:24 PM KSAX.com | Print | Email
By: Tim Sherno

Older Highways More Likely To Buckle Due