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SALT LAKE CITY — Three lanes on southbound I-215 near 1700 South were temporarily closed Monday because of buckling roads.
High temperatures and debris caught between the sections of road caused an "accelerated pothole," said John Gleason, Utah Department of Transportation spokesman.
"When you have that heat up, the panels will expand," Gleason said. "And really, there is no place to go if there's rocks or poor materials in the joints, so then they just expand up" and buckling.
Gleason said drivers should expect delays until about 7 p.m., when a temporary repair is expected to be complete. A permanent repair will take place over the next few days, he said.
"Unfortunately, this happened during the evening commute, and that's a headache for a lot of folks," Gleason said.
It is typical for roads to buckle during summers of extreme temperature shifts, he said.
Temperatures in Salt Lake City will hover near the low 80s until Thursday, then dip into the mid-70s Friday, according to KSL-TV.
Contributing: Jed Boal, Andrew Adams