UDOT crews keep close eye on road buckling as temperatures heat up

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MIDVALE — As Utah's weather heats up, transportation crews are closely watching for road buckling.

It happened Wednesday evening in the Salt Lake Valley, on the collector ramp to eastbound and westbound I-215.

"It can be very hazardous," said Ron Wells, who works for the Utah Department of Transportation incident management.

But, he noted, it's not as common to see it occur in early June.

"It kind of was a little early," Wells said Thursday afternoon on patrol in his truck. "But it was quite warm yesterday, so I'm not surprised to see it happen."

Roads buckle due to heat and moisture in the pavement, which Wells said he and his crews constantly watch for.

"Usually, we'll see crumbling or chunks of cement in the roadway," he said. "As it buckles and cars run over it, it breaks it up."

Buckling can cause serious damage to vehicles, Wells said. In the most recent incident Wednesday, crews shut down the collector ramp and worked overnight to repair the damage. It was reopened Thursday just in time for the morning commute.

UDOT spokesman John Gleason said buckling typically happens on older parts of the road, but it's still hard to anticipate.

"There's not a lot of warning that something like this is going to happen," Gleason said. "When they happen, we have to respond very quickly, shut down the road, so that nobody has any car or vehicle damage."

Wells is grateful buckling doesn't happen too often. But when it does, he takes it seriously.

"It's a constant, constant thing that we're looking for," Wells said. "Part of the heat and summer of Utah."

UDOT urges any drivers who notice buckling on the road to call 911 and report it so crews can take care of it as quickly as possible.

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Daniel Woodruff

Daniel Woodruff is a reporter and fill-in anchor at KSL. Born in Salt Lake City and raised in Provo, Daniel attended Provo High School and has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in communications from Brigham Young University. He worked as a reporter at a FOX affiliate in Indiana, followed by several years as the primary weeknight anchor at an ABC affiliate in Wisconsin. In 2014, Daniel and his family returned home to Utah, where he spent nearly seven years as a reporter at KUTV, along with a stint working in public relations. In January 2024, he joined the KSL news team. Daniel has covered many high-profile stories in his career, including the Great Recession and its effects, the Wisconsin recall elections, the inauguration of President Donald Trump, the Westminster Bridge terror attack in London, the Dakota Access Pipeline Protests in North Dakota, the Brian Head fire, the Las Vegas mass shooting, and the Lori Vallow Daybell murder trial. He has also reported extensively on Utah politics and covered multiple legislative sessions. Daniel enjoys running, reading non-fiction, trying new restaurants (especially Indian food) and traveling. He met his wife on a blind date. They have three children.