Heat wave puts stress on concrete, buckles pavement on city streets
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/06/2018 (2108 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
How hot is it outside? Well…
Hot enough for pavement slabs to buckle Wednesday afternoon on the north side of Portage Avenue at Donald Street, closing two of the three westbound lanes.
And a section of Scurfield Boulevard in Whyte Ridge buckled Tuesday for the same reason.
University of Manitoba civil engineering professor and pavement expert Ahmed Shalaby, said heat-caused heaving is not uncommon.
“You see this a lot on sidewalks,” he said. “It’s a well-recognized phenomenon.”
Concrete is a rigid material that retains heat; over a prolonged period of time, the heat puts stress on the material’s structure, he said.
“With temperature changes, the concrete needs to expand and contract,” he said, adding pavement is installed with joints every five metres for that purpose. The slabs are typically between 20 and 25 centimetres thick.
However, if the joint’s seal is broken and debris makes its way inside, there’s less room for expansion, creating additional stress. The result can be buckling, heaving or shattering.
“Whether its a road, sidewalk or curb, if it’s trying to move and it can’t expand, it can heave, crack or buckle,” said acting city street maintenance manager Cheryl Anderson, adding repair work on the Portage Avenue problem is expected to be completed by Friday evening.
erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @erik_pindera
Erik Pindera
Reporter
Erik Pindera reports for the city desk, with a particular focus on crime and justice.
History
Updated on Thursday, June 21, 2018 4:38 PM CDT: removes duplication