TOWN & COUNTRY, MO (KPLR-kplr11.com) -
It was so hot in St. Louis Tuesday, Highway 40 couldn't even take the heat. One westbound lane bubbled up and cracked during rush hour because of intense pressure down below. And now MoDOT is worried this is just the beginning. "This kind of stuff usually doesn't happen until late July or August," says MoDOT Maintenance Superintendent Chris Stone.
It's just mid-June, and it's like Highway 40 already gave up, blowing her temper. She just can't take the heat.
"You know it finds the weakest point and she blows," says Stone.
"With all the rain, in the early part of June, all that moisture got underneath the pavement. Then we turn the switch on with the heat, and it's like a pressure cooker. It just sits there and percolates and the lid pops on it."
The lid popped on the right westbound lane near Mason Road right before rush hour, says Stone, right after St. Louis topped out at 96 degrees. It was maybe the worst time, on maybe the worst day.
"Well it is brutal out here today. This the fourth one today for us," says Stone, describing what he dealt with just in West County, the area he is in charge of supervising. MoDOT calls the incidents "blowups". There were two blowups on Highway 100, near the Franklin County line, and then there is one on Olive, between Ballas and Old Ballas, which Stone thinks could go next.
"It's just reared its head," he says, "it's sticking its head up a little bit. It hasn't popped, but we're coming back in there with crews Wednesday."
Stone says he is also keeping his eye on two possible problem areas on 141, near Clayton Road and Highway 40. MoDOT says there were also blowups in Jefferson County Tuesday as well.
Stone says the crack on Highway 40 appeared fast. He says he personally drove through the area at 3 p.m. Tuesday and it was fine. Then by 4 p.m. it had blown. The crack ripped apart and chunks of the highway were everywhere. In this case one piece of the highway moved up about six to eight inches. But some blowups have been worse.
"I've seen them before where it raises up two or three feet. Cars have hit it and it was nighttime, and, well, folks were playing the Dukes of Hazard out there!"
The crews working that Tuesday rush hour incident had one truck running with the air conditioning going. That was their cooling station. And each man was ordered to rotate in and out of the intense heat.
"You give it what you've got for five or 10 minutes, then you go back in and cool off for 10, and that's all you can do, that's how you deal with it," says stone. "I think we're in for a long summer, man."
It's just mid-June, and it's like Highway 40 already gave up, blowing her temper. She just can't take the heat.
"You know it finds the weakest point and she blows," says Stone.
"With all the rain, in the early part of June, all that moisture got underneath the pavement. Then we turn the switch on with the heat, and it's like a pressure cooker. It just sits there and percolates and the lid pops on it."
The lid popped on the right westbound lane near Mason Road right before rush hour, says Stone, right after St. Louis topped out at 96 degrees. It was maybe the worst time, on maybe the worst day.
"Well it is brutal out here today. This the fourth one today for us," says Stone, describing what he dealt with just in West County, the area he is in charge of supervising. MoDOT calls the incidents "blowups". There were two blowups on Highway 100, near the Franklin County line, and then there is one on Olive, between Ballas and Old Ballas, which Stone thinks could go next.
"It's just reared its head," he says, "it's sticking its head up a little bit. It hasn't popped, but we're coming back in there with crews Wednesday."
Stone says he is also keeping his eye on two possible problem areas on 141, near Clayton Road and Highway 40. MoDOT says there were also blowups in Jefferson County Tuesday as well.
Stone says the crack on Highway 40 appeared fast. He says he personally drove through the area at 3 p.m. Tuesday and it was fine. Then by 4 p.m. it had blown. The crack ripped apart and chunks of the highway were everywhere. In this case one piece of the highway moved up about six to eight inches. But some blowups have been worse.
"I've seen them before where it raises up two or three feet. Cars have hit it and it was nighttime, and, well, folks were playing the Dukes of Hazard out there!"
The crews working that Tuesday rush hour incident had one truck running with the air conditioning going. That was their cooling station. And each man was ordered to rotate in and out of the intense heat.
"You give it what you've got for five or 10 minutes, then you go back in and cool off for 10, and that's all you can do, that's how you deal with it," says stone. "I think we're in for a long summer, man."
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