Louisiana state officials shared over the weekend that a stretch of Interstate 10 had to be temporarily shut down near Sorrento on Friday after the road began to buckle because of the extreme heat.
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development shared with The Advocate that just before noon on Friday, a section of I-10 westbound in Ascension Parish began to buckle on the inside lane, resulting in backups and a three-mile-long closure.
Brandie Bordelon, a spokesperson for the department, shared that officials determined the buckling was caused by excessive heat.
“Crews immediately mobilized and made the repairs within the hour,” DOTD Brandie Bordelon said.
So far this year, Bordelon shared that the agency has seen “numerous instances of buckling highways across the state.”
Bordelon noted that as temperatures rise, concrete expands, resulting in the roadways buckling and traffic that can seem endless at times.
Louisiana has been experiencing an extended period of warmer temperatures, and at the time of the buckling, forecasters shared that temperatures were in the high 90s.
While I-10 was constructed with expansion joints meant to account for shifting temperatures, Bordelon shared that the recent heat wave has put too much pressure on the interstate.
“During heat waves, such as the one we have been experiencing, the expansion is too high, and it caused the concrete panels to push again each other, causing the roadway to buckle or push up,” Bordelon said on Friday. “During instances such as the one that occurred today, crews will remove the damaged concrete and fill it with hot mix.”
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