SEATTLE — The pavement on Interstate 5 buckled in several places in the heat on Monday forcing lane closures.
Crews with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) responded to buckling on southbound I-5 near Northeast 130th Street in Seattle as well as a panel that needed to be fixed at Northeast 145th Street. The panels have been repaired, and southbound lanes have reopened.
On northbound I-5, a panel buckled at Northeast 155th Street, Northeast 175th Street and Northeast 195th Street in Shoreline. WSDOT said all lanes of northbound I-5 reopened Monday morning following Monday's repairs.
“Heat expands the concrete. They push up against each other, heave up and create a large bump,” said Morgan Balogh with WSDOT.
WSDOT crews in other parts of the region were still dealing with damage Tuesday morning as well.
In a tweet, the department saw damage on State Route 162 in South Prairie, which was likely caused by the heat wave.
The heat, according to WSDOT, caused the asphalt to rise roughly four inches across both lanes.
The buckling and heat-related damage come after three consecutive days of temperatures over 100 degrees, two of which set all-time records.
Seattle hit 108 degrees on Monday, which broke the all-time high record of 104 degrees that was set Sunday.
The previous all-time high record of 103 degrees was set in 2009.