Buckled cement gives drivers the heave-ho

Highways, local roads and sidewalks have buckled and broken thanks to extreme heat in recent days, wreaking havoc with travel. Garth Thomson was driving on the Perimeter Highway, just north [...]

Buckled cement gives drivers the heave-ho Extreme heat damages highways, roads and sidewalks To continue reading, please subscribe: Digital Subscription One year of digital access for only $205* - Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com - Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper - Access News Break, our award-winning app - Play interactive puzzles To continue reading, please subscribe: Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional $1 for the first 4 weeks* Highways, local roads and sidewalks have buckled and broken thanks to extreme heat in recent days, wreaking havoc with travel.

Garth Thomson was driving on the Perimeter Highway, just north of Assiniboia Downs, around 4 p.m. Sunday when he suddenly came upon a major gap in the road. “There was a big break in the highway, which was the heaving. I had about four seconds to decide what I was going to do.

So, I kind of hit my brakes and drove more towards the centre, where the big chunks weren’t (located),” said Thomson. “It happened so fast ... there were big chunks (of concrete), probably a foot (per) square, sticking up.” His convertible was had bumper damage and a hole in its gas tank, he said.

“I got over the bridge and I thought I better pull over and have a look... There was a lineup of about 10 cars, everybody out checking their tires,” said Thomson, noting four other vehicles appeared to have flat tires. He called the fire department to address the gas leak hazard and believes his vehicle can be repaired.

Environment Canada recorded a high temperature of 35.3 C Sunday, with a humidex that made it feel like 48. The base temperature topped out at 34.1 C Monday. The provincial government confirmed concrete buckled on the Trans-Canada Highway and west Perimeter Highway, as well as highways 75, 59, 7, 8 and 30 on Sunday.

“All highway buckles identified by maintenance crews have their lanes immediately closed off with barricades in place. Traffic is then directed around the area of concern until the roadway is safe to be reopened,” the government statement said. While roads are designed to expand and contract at joints, when air temperatures rise “significantly,” pavement can expand beyond the available space at the joints,” leading the surface to buckle, a provincial spokesperson said.

This buckling usually happens about one to three times per hot summer and is not regularly counted, the province said. Heat has also torn up roads and sidewalks in Winnipeg over the past few days. City crews responded to 15 significantly heaved roads by Tuesday morning, along with 30 sidewalks that had buckled, said Mike Smoljanovic, the city’s acting manager of streets maintenance.

“There still likely will be some heat explosions, as we call them, or heat-caused heaves in the pavement. We see this when there’s multiple days above 30 C, above 31, 32. It also didn’t help that we had all that moisture, all that rain beforehand,” said Smoljanovic.

Rain can saturate materials below a road slab and lead them to expand, he said. “If there’s some exposed joints within the pavement, the water, the rain (can) bring dust and dirt and debris down into the joints and those objects (can be) expanding as well,” he said. One Winnipeg Transit bus got stuck on a buckled speed table on Bridge Lake Drive and Water Bend Road Monday, which had to be hauled out to allow the road beneath it to be repaired.

“Not in my 21 years at the city have I ever seen that ... It’s a shocking image,” said Smoljanovic. That repair began Monday evening and continued Tuesday.

Smoljanovic said all reported road breaks had been at least barricaded by Tuesday afternoon, with some repairs completed and others still underway. Significant heaving damage also affected parts of Abinojii Mikanah, Pembina Highway, William R. Clement Parkway, Kenaston Boulevard, Waverley Street, Moray Street, Saskatchewan Avenue, Portage Avenue and many other routes, the city said. Many sidewalk breaks were reported in south Winnipeg, including about 20 on Bridge Lake Drive alone.

While roads can retain heat, Smoljanovic said the damage should taper off, if lower temperatures in the forecast for the next few days prove accurate. Mayor Scott Gillingham credited city crews for working on repairs well into Monday night. “With the humidity, (the temperature) hit historic levels.

That’s obviously very hard on infrastructure ... If you see a road or a sidewalk that is heaved, please call 311 and make sure you report it so we can get to those locations,” said Gillingham. Coun.

Janice Lukes, chairwoman of city council’s public works committee, noted the city does not keep track of how many heaved roads and sidewalks it repairs each year. Anecdotally, she said that damage appears to be increasing. “I’m seeing sidewalks all over (with this damage).

It’s not good but it’s a new reality ... I don’t remember seeing as many roads (damaged before).

Literally, they blow up and it’s dangerous because there’s all these chunks of concrete,” said Lukes (Waverley West). The councillor urged people to report all damage to the city, including on sidewalks. “It is a high priority because it’s very dangerous.

(There) can be very dangerous tripping hazards,” said Lukes. joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca X: @joyanne_pursaga

Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.

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