Watch A Heatwave Instantly Buckle This Road And Send A Toyota Flying

When we drive on public roads, we usually expect the odd bump or two. What we don’t expect is a massive hump to suddenly appear before us, throwing our car airborne. And yet, for one unlucky driver in Missouri last week, that’s precisely what happened.

As covered by Fox10, the incident occurred on Siemers Drive in Cape Girardeau on Sunday, June 22. Local Albert Blackwell was filming a small bulge in the road that had formed during the heatwave. The damaged area of the road had already been signposted as a “BUMP” by city authorities. As Blackwell filmed, the road suddenly burst upwards.

As the road split and bulged upwards, an approaching driver in a Toyota Corolla had nowhere to go. As their sedan hit the surprise ramp, it caught a full foot of air before landing back on the ground with an ungainly thump.

While the Corolla was never built to take jumps, it nevertheless appears to have survived the stunt without suffering major damage. As seen in the video, the drivers following were fortunate enough to have more time to react. Cars coming from behind gingerly worked their way over the surprise obstacle without the airborne antics.

There was a degree of luck involved in catching the shot. “When I went back to get a front angle of cars going over the smaller buckle, the road exploded and rose over 18 inches, sending a car airborne,” Blackwell told media outlet Storyful.

Siemers Drive wasn’t the only road to face issues, either. With temperatures approaching 100 degrees on the weekend, the city of Cape Girardeau reported that another road had also buckled in the hot conditions. Road crews will be pleased to note that temperatures are expected to ease towards this weekend, remaining below 90 degrees for much of the following week.

Video captured by KFVS12 shows just how severe the buckle was. Where the concrete has expanded and pushed up from the ground, it stands well over 12 inches above the surrounding roadway. It would be an almost perfect ramp if not for the fact that commuter cars don’t handle airtime particularly well.

KFVS12 managed to capture repair efforts on Monday. Road crews used asphalt to replace the damaged section, restoring a smooth, continuous surface without any surprise jumps.

Public roads are intentionally designed to withstand typical weather conditions, be they heat, cold, rain, wind, or snow. Still, every so often, high heat can deliver some unwelcome surprises. One minute, you’re driving your Corolla to the store; the next, you’re doing a Streets of San Francisco. Stay safe out there, and watch out for any more surprise pop-up ramps as the roads get warm this summer.

Image credits: FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul via YouTube screenshot