MNDOT Warns Of Pavement Buckles During Hot Summer Days

Mid-July begins the hottest part of the year across Minnesota, bringing an unexpected hazard to highways that you need to watch out for.

How does a pavement buckle happen?

Pavement buckles happen when the intense heat causes the pavement to expand. When roads are constructed, they leave gaps in place to allow the pavement to expand and contract with the temperature. In some cases, the space may not be enough, causing the roadway to buckle and heave upwards.

MNDOT

What type of roadways are more susceptible to buckle?

Older concrete roads are more likely to buckle in hot weather. Blacktop is more flexible and doesn't tend to buckle like concrete, but still can create a hump, much like frost does in the winter.

Minnesota Department Of Transportation Facebook

What should you do if you come across a pavement buckle?

You should call 911 immediately if you encounter one on the roadway. They are considered emergencies because they can be very dangerous for motorists. MNDOT dispatches a team to fix the buckle as soon as possible.

Minnesota Department Of Transportation

LOOK: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving

To find out more about how has the price of gas changed throughout the years, Stacker ran the numbers on the cost of a gallon of gasoline for each of the last 84 years. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (released in April 2020), we analyzed the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline from 1976 to 2020 along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for unleaded regular gasoline from 1937 to 1976, including the absolute and inflation-adjusted prices for each year.

Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.

Gallery Credit: Sophia Crisafulli