Bringing On The Heat

This year, the nation has experienced phenomenal weather patterns. 

These weather patterns have made many truck driving jobs difficult.

From raging tornados, floods, and crippling blizzards, the recent trend in weather has wreaked havoc on many trucking jobs. Roadways have been closed and trucks have been stranded in mounds of snow, keeping some areas of the trucking industry at a standstill.

Unfortunately, current weather conditions are not helping. In fact, because of the blazing heat in many areas of the nation, more and more states have had to cut off sections of their roadways because of buckling. When a road buckles, it means part of the road has risen and formed what can be defined as a ridge in the roadway.

The cause of this occurrence is called ‘thermal expansion’. In elementary science, we are taught that heat makes objects expand, while cold makes them contract. Buckling is simple example of this; when excessive heat is concentrated on the road, it becomes too hot and begins to expand. However, only a small section of the road is expanding and when this section pushes against the solid boarder surrounding it, pressure builds and the expanding section is forced upward. Sometimes, the immense amount of pressure can even cause a small explosion in the road.

According to Dawn Eischen, Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman, the main reason for buckling is the sudden and extreme shifts in temperature. "Because we have extreme cold in the winter and then extreme heat in the summer, it causes the buckling," Eischen said. "Unlike a pothole, the extreme heat causes the concrete of the road to expand. When the concrete expands into another segment of concrete, it buckles upward instead of collapsing like a pothole."

In most regions, buckling is not a common occurrence. The phenomenon is also seen on train tracks, when pieces of the track will bend in extreme heat. "The damage," Eischen said. "Can be repaired by digging around the buckled concrete, and filling the area with either asphalt or concrete."

While a number of roads have been closed due to buckling, detours have been created and repairs are being done as quickly as possible. As a truck driver, you might want to check the road patterns of your route to make sure there is not a case of buckling in your path. Familiarizing yourself with more than one route is always a good idea as a truck driver, as you never know what can happen.