Tulsa Road Construction Crews Work After Dark To Beat Heat

Russell Hulstine, NewsOn6.com

TULSA, Oklahoma -- With these extreme temperatures, you may notice something different if you drive around Tulsa at night, road construction crews are working on roads when it's dark.

With triple-digit temperatures beating down on Oklahoma the Oklahoma Department of Transportation says it's found a good way to help protect its workers.

Aaron Wilcox, a project manager for a Tulsa road project, says it's 20 degrees cooler after dark, plus crews don't have to worry about as many drivers on the road.

The heat also impacts materials like concrete in a big way. Concrete has water in it and the hotter it is outside the faster the water evaporates, which means the concrete may set too fast.

"Water hydrates out of it and it starts generating a lot more heat, it's kind of like your yard is. You don't water for a while, it starts shrinking up and starts getting cracks. It decreases the durability of the concrete," said Aaron Wilcox.

That would force the construction workers to do the job all over again.

Wilcox says drivers should slow down in construction zones at night, just like they would during the day.

For the latest road construction information check out NewsOn6.com's Daily Detour.