Germany is set to carry out urgent repairs on its autobahn network this weekend after a recent heatwave caused significant damage to key highway sections.
Temperatures reaching up to 39°C caused concrete to expand and crack, leading to large chunks of road surface lifting and resulting in lengthy traffic jams, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.
The repair efforts come as many German states prepare to begin summer holidays on July 4, with authorities warning of further traffic disruptions during the weekend. A complete closure of one direction on a busy stretch in the Ruhr area will take place from July 4 night until the morning of July 7 to allow workers to fix cracks and holes.
This damage is linked to a phenomenon known as “blow-ups,” which occurs when concrete expands under high temperatures and fractures due to lack of space for expansion. This issue mostly affects older or heavily used highway sections, especially those not covered by asphalt. To mitigate risks, German officials have implemented lower speed limits on older highway parts during summer months — a notable measure in Germany, the only industrialised country without a general speed limit on its highways.
Germany, along with much of Europe, has been experiencing more frequent and intense heatwaves in recent years, as the continent warms at twice the global average rate since the 1980s due to climate change. These soaring temperatures threaten both critical infrastructure and public health.
In the western-central state of Hesse, for example, “five meters of the road were ‘chiseled up and the broken pieces removed,’” the local highway authority reported on July 3. The damaged section has since been resurfaced with new asphalt.
While the autobahn repairs are likely to cause inconvenience for holiday travelers, the extreme heat has also had more severe consequences across Europe.
The Greek island of Crete has been battling wildfires that have forced thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate. Meanwhile, Spain, Italy, and France have recorded several heat-related deaths this week.
By Sabina Mammadli
Source: caliber.az
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