Extreme Heat Blamed For Road Damage
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The record heat created major problems on local roads.
Kai Jackson explains how the heat is literally destroying highways.
Marylanders are relieved that the heat wave has broken, but it's clearly taken a toll on people and on roads.
For now, the back of Maryland's recent heat wave has been broken--yet in the process, the heat has done some breaking of its own.
The fact that 80 degree weather feels like relief to Marylanders demonstrates just how hot it's been. Further proof of that is damage to infrastructure done by the heat wave.
Route 50 in Bowie buckled, a casualty of the heat. The State Highway Administration moved quickly to make temporary repairs, yet more work is needed.
"The blacktop is a temporary fix. Because this is concrete, we're gonna need to come in at a later date, which we will determine and send out news releases to everybody, and do a more permanent repair using concrete itself," said Charlie Gischlar, Maryland State Highway Administration.
Just south of Baltimore, at Reagan National Airport, the wheels of an US Airways jet got stuck in the soft tarmac on Friday after the surface was weakened by the relentless heat.
The heat has caused roads to buckle in other states, train tracks have warped and a relentless and pounding sun has also damaged crops. Yet Monday, many were just focused on relief.
"We can walk up to the snowball stand today and it's just pleasant out," said one.
The section of Rt. 50 that buckled in Bowie was between routes 197 and 301.
