PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) – With the heat on the rise, road engineers are getting calls about the routes we take daily.
“The pavement that we actually drive on every day even though we don’t notice it, it will shift,” said Director of Peoria Public Works, Sie Maroon.
One IDOT operations engineer, Matt Vitner said crews are already working to fix some.
“This is the time for roadways to blow up, we’ve had 4 just over this past weekend from Saturday til now right on 474 and route 6,” said Vitner.
However, Maroon said his crews haven’t seen any on Peoria roads just yet.
“We haven’t seen any this year but that doesn’t mean that its not going to happen,” said Maroon.
So how do they form?
“What happens is two sections of concrete comes together and at the joint and that’s when they blow up,” said Maroon.
The biggest factor is the heat.
“When the air temperature is 80-90 degrees, temperatures are actually 130-150 degrees or higher,” said Vitner.
Drivers are encouraged to be mindful when driving.
“It’s not something people have to look for, you will just know when it happens,” said Maroon.
