It looked like something out of movie or TV show, but it actually happened Thursday afternoon in northwest Rochester.

Pavement buckled along West Circle Drive in northwest Rochester Thursday, causing two cement slabs to create what looked like a massive ramp.

And, according to this KTTC-TV story, several cars did go airborne after hitting the buckled portion of the pavement. Rochester police say it all happened Thursday afternoon at about 4 p.m.

Luckily, the story noted that there were no accidents and nobody was injured when the massive ramp suddenly appeared in the middle of one of the lanes of County Road 22. The story also said one lane was blocked while crews worked to repair the buckled pavement.

I happened to be traveling along that stretch of West Circle Drive at about 5:45 and saw several emergency vehicles blocking traffic near the intersection with Commerce Drive, between Costco and the Crooked Pint Ale House. I didn't see what had happened, though-- I thought a car crash had taken place. Had I happened by an hour and a half earlier, it looks like I could have done by best Bo and Luke Duke impression.

So just why do roads in Minnesota sometimes buckle like this stretch did yesterday? Check out this explanation, courtesy of MnDOT:

Pavement buckles can occur when the air temperature changes from moderate to extreme heat. When a road is constructed it is cut into segments creating a space for expansion and contraction. Sometimes that space is not enough and when that happens the pavement buckles or blows up, particularly when the pavement is older and weaker. The warmer the temperature the more the pavement material expands. The sun heats the pavement, and the pavement expands and then buckles. 

Listen to Curt St. John from 6 to 10 a.m. on Quick Country 96.5
and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 103.9 The Doc

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