"It is what we see pretty much every year when the weather gets hot, especially with prolonged periods of heat," Ivy said. "Those old joints expand and they don't have anywhere to go, so they go up."
Monday morning at 9 a.m., N.C. Department of Transportation workers closed the left lane of the southbound lanes at Akron Drive to make emergency repairs. The right lane was open, but drivers felt a bump as they went through the work area.
Workers cut out the damaged section and put down new concrete. Concrete takes eight to 12 hours to harden.
Ivey said the problem usually crops up on older concrete roads built with concrete slabs that are joined together. Modern road-building methods don't use that technique, so newer concrete roads don't have the same problems, Ivey said.
Highway officials said they plan to reopen the left lane of U.S. 52 southbound by 6 a.m. today. Work crews will then start repairing the right lane.
Robby Stone, the streets director in Winston-Salem, said that so far no city streets have buckled under the heat.
"The majority of our roads are asphalt streets," Stone said. "A few are asphalt overlaid over concrete."
Both officials said that more moderate temperatures this week should help prevent more road problems.
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