Utah's roads are taking a beating as summer heat cranks up, and UDOT crews are scrambling to keep up. A recent run of heat-driven pavement failures, often called buckles or "blow-ups," has triggered lane closures across the state. The sudden pop-ups range from minor bumps you can steer around to hulking slabs that shut down multiple lanes and demand overnight repairs.
Mitchel Shaw, a spokesperson for UDOT, told FOX 13 Salt Lake City that the cause is simple physics. "Concrete is made to expand and contract," he said, and when it cannot cool off or move where it needs to, it can "pop up," UDOT notes that a road surface can run as much as 50 degrees hotter than the surrounding air, which is why many of these buckles show up during the hottest part of the afternoon.
One recent headache hit Ogden, where a section of Washington Boulevard buckled and forced the closure of two northbound lanes, tangling traffic for hours. According to KSL, UDOT typically sees about 10 to 12 of these incidents statewide each summer, and the odds jump sharply once air temperatures climb into the 90s.
How crews make fast repairs
When a buckle shows up, UDOT crews move in quickly to tear out the damaged slab and stabilize the area. For a rapid reopening, they often patch the gap with asphalt so traffic can resume while temperatures are still high. Mitchel Shaw told FOX 13 Salt Lake City that in urgent situations, crews "dig it out and put some asphalt over the top," while more severe damage leads them to cut out and pour new concrete for a longer-term fix.
Why the pavement pops up
Transportation researchers say there is nothing mysterious about the mechanics of these blow-ups. Repeated heating ramps up internal stress in concrete panels, and when contraction joints are clogged with debris, those slabs lose the room they need to expand. The National Concrete Pavement Technology Center describes how thermal expansion, deteriorating joints, and persistent high nighttime temperatures can push pavement past a "trigger temperature" that causes the kind of sudden failures drivers see during hot summers nationwide.
What drivers should do
UDOT is asking drivers to keep a sharp eye out. Motorists are urged to slow down around any visible pavement irregularities, avoid driving directly over obvious pop-ups, and report hazardous buckles so crews can move quickly. As KSL notes, if a buckle appears to pose an immediate threat to traffic, people should call 911. For other issues, UDOT wants drivers to use the agency's reporting line so it can prioritize repairs.
State transportation officials say they are gearing up for a busy season as heatwaves become more frequent and intense. As reported by ABC4 via AOL, UDOT spokesman Nick Naylor warned that during stretches of triple-digit heat, "it's almost guaranteed to happen," and the department says repair teams are on standby to move in fast, fix the damage, and reopen lanes as safely as possible.
