Heather Wright/The Independent

Ministry of Transportation officials say it will take some time to fix the buckled concrete on the westbound lanes of Highway 402.

Late last night, the OPP closed the road down saying the conditions were unsafe. An OPP post on social media said it appears the extreme heat was part of the problem. An unverified photo circulating on social media showed a section of the concrete portion of the road cracked and heaving right across the eastbound lanes.

Late Monday, MTO Senior Media Relations Officer Julia Caslin confirmed “Due to extreme heat, a pavement joint on Highway 402 between Oil Heritage Road and Mandaumin Road in Plympton-Wyoming requires repair leading to the temporary closure of the highway.”

Caslin said the highway will reopen “later this week” after a temporary fix is completed. “Permanent repairs will be made this fall.”

This is not the first time heat has caused major road damage. In June 2019, the MTO was forced to implement alternating lane closures near Oil Heritage Road for heaving concrete. At the time, MTO officials said the rubberized sealants which allows concrete to expand may expand so much in extreme heat that the concrete buckles.

The road closure meant long line ups on Oil Heritage leading to London Line for drivers to take a detour.

Any lengthy road closure could make driving in Central Lambton a headache. Aside from the road conditions of the 402, the County of Lambton is getting ready to fix Mandaumin Road between Churchill and London Line – part of the road is already closed for a culvert replacement today until Wednesday.

Traffic on Petrolia Line near Forest Road is also expected to be slow as county crews use a pace vehicle to get drivers around the road resurfacing project on Petrolia Line between Forest Line and Little Ireland Road.

Drivers trying to get around the traffic heading up either Lasalle or Churchill will run into construction on Nauvoo Road where the county will again be using a pace vehicle to get traffic through a resurfacing project from the south end of Watford to Lasalle Line.