Exploding Pavement From Heat Wave
source: http://abcnews.go.com/US/heat-wave-exploding-sidewalks-blood-red-reservoir-texas/story?id=14...
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Pavement blowups in Iowa have the state Department of Transportation urging motorists to pay special attention to pavement surfaces when driving during afternoons with 90-degree or hotter temperatures.
"The wet weather in parts of the state combined with the extreme heat is a recipe for pavement blowups," director John Selmer said in a statement.
Pavement blowups occur when thermal expansion forces the pavement to buckle and shatter, according to the DOT. They occur suddenly and can put the state out of $400,000 annually in road repairs.
Likewise in Texas, roads are falling victim to extreme temperatures in the panhandle. Moisture from the winter months stays in the asphalt cracks all year and expands when affected by the heat. Road explosions occur when the moisture finds a week point in the asphalt.
"The problem is we never know where they're going to happen," Texas Department of Transportation spokesman Paul Braun said. "So our crews are constantly patrolling the highways and freeways that we are responsible for and looking for these blowups in hot weather like this."
Snail-Snow Railroad Trains
As the Midwestern states stave off the heat, metal railroad rails there expand and buckle and railroad trains slow by 20 miles per hour.
Because of the heat, Mark Davis of the Union Pacific Railroad said, the metal rails expand and could buckle out of alignment, causing a derailment. To ensure that trains operate safely during extreme heat conditions, the company removes inches from the tracks and slows the trains.
"As the rail expands, our track inspectors and track employees will literally cut out inches of rail in an effort to keep the track itself from buckling," Davis said. "When you slow a train down, it has a less impact on the track if it is expanding."
more at link
"The wet weather in parts of the state combined with the extreme heat is a recipe for pavement blowups," director John Selmer said in a statement.
Pavement blowups occur when thermal expansion forces the pavement to buckle and shatter, according to the DOT. They occur suddenly and can put the state out of $400,000 annually in road repairs.
Likewise in Texas, roads are falling victim to extreme temperatures in the panhandle. Moisture from the winter months stays in the asphalt cracks all year and expands when affected by the heat. Road explosions occur when the moisture finds a week point in the asphalt.
"The problem is we never know where they're going to happen," Texas Department of Transportation spokesman Paul Braun said. "So our crews are constantly patrolling the highways and freeways that we are responsible for and looking for these blowups in hot weather like this."
Snail-Snow Railroad Trains
As the Midwestern states stave off the heat, metal railroad rails there expand and buckle and railroad trains slow by 20 miles per hour.
Because of the heat, Mark Davis of the Union Pacific Railroad said, the metal rails expand and could buckle out of alignment, causing a derailment. To ensure that trains operate safely during extreme heat conditions, the company removes inches from the tracks and slows the trains.
"As the rail expands, our track inspectors and track employees will literally cut out inches of rail in an effort to keep the track itself from buckling," Davis said. "When you slow a train down, it has a less impact on the track if it is expanding."
more at link
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coolplanet
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This is the new normal.
Maybe it will create more jobs.
I'm glad I don't have kids because I'd be even more upset by the masses who deny what is rapidly happening to our precious planet. - 10 months ago
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coolplanet
