GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.–In these hot temperatures, playground equipment can burn children and the sidewalk can torch your pet’s feet. Our roads are also vulnerable and even run the risk of buckling.
John Richard with M-DOT’s Grand Region says it’s something they deal with every year when the pavement heats up.
“It expands and it contracts, but when it’s this hot it really expands and it has to go somewhere so it finds the path of least resistance,” Richard said. “Basically if it goes down it’s a pot hole and it goes up the pavement buckles.”
Such extreme temperatures for an extended period of time could mean trouble, but so far West Michigan has been lucky, and Richard says they have crews keeping an eye on things.
“When it’s this hot there’s even more movement, we always anticipate and expect some kind. That’s how they’re built, for some kind of movement,” Richard said.
