Pavement buckle causes detour on Route 2 for second day in a row

OREGON – For the second time in 24 hours, a pavement blowout caused a portion of Route 2 to be closed Wednesday evening between Oregon and Byron.

Squad cars from the City of Byron and the Ogle County Sheriff’s Department blocked off the road, just north of intersection with Town Hall Road, early Wednesday evening waiting for crews from the Illinois Department of Transportation to arrive.

IDOT crews were called Tuesday night to patch two blowouts on the busy state highway – one just north of the Silver Ridge Golf Course, north of Oregon, and the other south of Byron, near Town Line Road.

During those incidents, traffic was directed from Route 2 to Mud Creek Road after both lanes of the state highway buckled. IDOT crews cut into the concrete and patched the road that runs east past the golf course.

Crews also repaired the buckled road at Town Line Road on Tuesday, but the pavement buckled again at that location Wednesday prompting law enforcement to stop southbound traffic at the Route 72 intersection and detour northbound traffic to Town Line Road.

Large yellow “bump” signs were placed along the highway where the blowouts occurred.

Pavement failures or blowouts occur when prolonged high temperatures cause the road to expand and buckle up or blow out, resulting in uneven driving surfaces. Precipitation and humidity increase the potential for buckling.