OGDEN, Utah, June 14, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — A portion of Ogden’s westbound 12th Street, between Wall Avenue and Gibson Avenue to the west, is closed except for a single traffic lane because of a buckling roadway.
Eastbound traffic is unaffected.
A Utah Department of Transportation spokesman at the scene told Gephardt Daily that the buckling was caused by the extreme heat. Ogden peaked at 100 degrees Fahrenheit Monday, and 12th Street is one of the city’s most heavily used roadways, frequented by semis as well as local drivers.
Buckling can happen when concrete slabs of roads start expanding in the heat and press on each other. It creates stress, and too much expansion causes the road to buckle at stress points, creating unsafe driving conditions.
“Closures will be in place until crews are able to make the repairs,” says a UDOT tweet issued at 4:16 p.m. “Consider an alternate route.”
The spokesman told Gephardt Daily equipment was being brought in to tear out the damaged road, and 12th Street in that block will be restricted to one lane until the street is fully repaired. New concrete could be poured as soon as Tuesday morning.
It was not immediately clear how long the concrete would have to cure before it would be cleared for use by traffic.
Gephardt Daily will have more information as it becomes available.
