Heat causes I-77 to buckle again | News, Sports, Jobs – Marietta Times
Photo courtesy of ODOT District 10.
Pavement crews work Monday to cold-patch a section of broken concrete on I-77 between mile markers eight and 10 just outside Marietta.
It took about two years for the same conditions to crumble concrete in the same spots on I-77 in Marietta.
“There was one Friday, three or four Sunday and one (Monday) as well,” explained Bert Tooms, highway administrator for the Ohio Department of Transportation District 10 office. “Unfortunately some of those locations are where the road blew out a couple years ago, too. So (Tuesday) we had engineers out there looking at the design and we’re meeting (today) to discuss what some mid-term and long-term solutions could be for this.”
In July of 2018, the concrete slab joints of the interstate also suffered damage due to a heat wave which caused buckling when the joints expanded past the points of pressure release available at the time.
“When you get 10 to 12 days with not only the heat above with the sun beating down but also the heat of the tires impacting that concrete sometimes it gets too hot for the concrete to take there,” Tooms explained. “That section’s design is from years ago when concrete was the new impressive thing but I’m not so much a fan now… but what people don’t realize is you can’t just have spots of asphalt between concrete. That’s not consistent and reliable either.”
For now, Tooms explained, the buckling was removed and the roadway has a temporary repair to have the lanes reopened for passing traffic.
“We put in cold mix to patch it, but we meet early (today) to go over what repairing that long-term is going to look like and how we’ll plan to pay for that, maybe bringing in capital planning into the (funding stream),” he said.
Matt Bruning, public information officer for ODOT, explained that the conditions which created the buckling between mile markers eight and 10 of the interstate on the northbound lanes were monitored through the temperature readings ODOT takes throughout the state’s highways and interstate lanes.
“Just like many things do, concrete expands when heated and contracts when cool, what you see here is the pavement running out of space to expand into the joints and so when that happens it can heave, in other cases it can crack,” Bruning noted. “Looking at the temperature readings (Tuesday) things seem to be a lot less strenuous on the road condition there than Monday when the pavement read between 119 degrees and 124 degrees. Now, when I look at it (Tuesday) it’s 94.6 in northern Washington County.”
Bruning said in the interim between a potential full overhaul of the section that has now presented traffic flow safety concerns twice within two years, the breaks may be treated as a needed joint repair until capital funding may be secured for a longer-term investment.
“Those repairs will get made though, that’s a vital stretch of roadway,” he said.
Janelle Patterson may be reached at [email protected].
At a glance:
•Buckling in multiple spots impacted traffic flow northbound on I-77 between Friday and Monday.
•Temporary repairs of the broken concrete have been completed.
•Ohio Department of Transportation officials are working to design a longer-term solution.
Source: Ohio Department of Transportation.