Crews repairing buckled stretch of Ohio 151 near Jewett

HARRISON COUNTY, Ohio — A roadway in Harrison County is down to one lane after it buckled as a result of extreme heat.

Those who travel on Ohio 151 west of Jewett were met with an interesting obstacle earlier this week as heat led to thermal expansion and caused the heavily traveled road to buckle.

The road that was constructed in 2016 has an asphalt base overlayed with a concrete surface. It's designed to last twice as long as normal asphalt, according to Joseph Marlatt with Ohio Department of Transportation.

“With concrete, you don’t need to re-surface the road quite as often,” he said. “Typically, if we can get 10 to 12 years out of asphalt wearing surfaces, that is a good run. Concrete tends to last longer.”

Marlatt said that it is not uncommon for this type of buckling to happen to concrete during extremely hot temperatures. But what does this mean for drivers who frequent this route and do they have to be concerned about it happening again?

“No, our expectation is that we are going to install some asphalt pressure relief joints to help take away some of the strength of the concrete and maybe reduce the amount of tension in the concrete,” Marlatt said.

If you travel through the region, you are asked to respect the work zone.

Crews expect to have this completely re-opened next week.