68 pavement buckles already reported on Wisconsin roadways this year

(WLUK) -- Just a few months ago, we were talking about ice on the road. Now, it's road buckles.

“We might get one or two a year so it's not very frequent," said Paula Vandehey, Appleton Director of Public Works.

Vandehey says but the city hasn't seen a road buckle yet this year.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) in 2019, there were 108 reported cases of pavement buckling in Wisconsin.

In 2020, 163 cases. So far in 2021, after just the start of high heat, 68 cases.

“The last couple of weeks it's been pretty extreme," said Wisconsin DOT Northeast Region Maintenance Supervisor, Scott Nelson.

Nelson says the most recent road buckle was southbound on I-41 near Neenah on Monday night.

“I believe it just closed down one lane because it was more of the shoulder where the main drain is. There is a little bit in lit there," said Nelson.

High temperatures make the concrete roads expand as the animation shows.

“As they expand sometimes when it gets to those joints there is just no room for that concrete to expand and that’s what causes that pavement to buckle," said Nelson.

Nelson says the concrete roads could be new, they could be old, and that there are no real indicators that show where road buckles may occur.

“You won't see it on our asphalt roadways however, sometimes we have some asphalt that overlays the concrete so you don't see the concrete underneath," said Nelson.

FOX 11 asked, "how much would something like this cost?"

“Generally the material cost isn’t that great. On highway 41 some of the biggest cost is to protect the zone," said Nelson with the DOT.

“It really depends on the size but we’re talking about a couple of thousand dollars not tens of thousands of dollars," said Vandehey with Appleton.

Vandehey and Nelson say drivers should pay attention to the road and call the police as soon as they see a buckle.

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