Cars park along the shoulder of Highway 10 on Tuesday following a sudden buckling of pavement. (Courtesy Portage Co. Sheriff’s Office)

By Patrick Lynn

“It’s just your typical pavement blowout.”

That’s not something you hear every day, but Chief Deputy Dan Kontos said it happens more often that you’d think, just as several motorists witnessed on Tuesday on a section of Highway 10 near County Road K.

“On occasion you get pavement blowouts, especially in the warm weather- springtime is good for that, into early summer,” he said.

The blowout was reported by a driver at 4:30, when a deputy was dispatched to reroute traffic along the shoulder of the roadway. Kontos said at least three vehicles were damaged, though he didn’t know to what extent, but said no injuries were reported.

Kontos also said thanks to the county highway department, the roadway was cleaned up and the road was reopened at 7:56 PM.

Nathan Check, director of the highway department, said his people were on the scene within 30 minutes of the initial call to assess the damage and contact with Dept. of Transportation.

“We grab our trailer with all the additional signs and cones, and work with the sheriff’s department onsite to create a lane closure and how to direct traffic,” Check said of the protocol used by his office in instances of a roadway problem. “In that case they rerouted traffic on the shoulder while we got things cleaned up.”

Check said the next step is to work with the DOT on a permanent repair plan, which will include cutting out sections of pavement. He estimated that stretch of road, which is covered in about 8 inches of concrete pavement, is about ten years old.

“As the pavement heats up, combined with the moisture that’s there, it wants to expand. The slabs push together and buckle. We deal with a couple of those a month,” he said.

Both Check and Kontos said there’s no way to predict when or where the buckling will occur, but say drivers should always pay attention to the road.