The ongoing heat wave over much of the country is causing railroad rails and asphalt roads in some Midwestern states to expand and buckle, forcing transportation officials to make repairs and railroads to pay close attention to their tracks’ safety, the Associated Press reported.
Excessive heat causes concrete to expand, which can lead to buckling along roads, bridges, sidewalks and other thoroughfares, AP said.
A backup late last week on Interstate 75 near Dayton, Ohio, was caused by a large pothole, which can occur when pavement buckles from extreme heat, Dayton television station WHIO reported on its website.
Intense heat in Oklahoma was blamed for sending at least one motorist to the hospital, and Iowa has seen dozens of incidents of roads buckling in the past week because of the heat, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation, AP said.
Union Pacific Railroad said the heat has affected the operations of its entire northern division and that it is having workers inspect its tracks up to twice a day, AP reported, adding that the heat has forced railroads to slow its trains by 10 to 20 mph.
