What's going on with sidewalks buckling"?

When the sidewalks are new they lie flat and level. When they


are old and have been there a long time, they buckle up. We


know that concrete can%26#039;t expand . So what%26#039;s going on? Is the


Earth beneath them shrinking? If It%26#039;s a frost heave then why do


they not settle back down after a thaw? There don%26#039;t seen to be


enough room.. What do you think?

What%26#039;s going on with sidewalks buckling%26quot;?
the answer is very simple! mother earth is forever changing and shifting. the ground shifts periodically whether we feel it or not.


have-a-loving-day!
Reply:frost heaving and moving of the base soil under the pad


tree roots growing under the pad


vehicles driving on the sidewalk whether driveway or city vehicles that go on these areas to do repairs to wires or other reasons


and just plain old wear and tear
Reply:global warming is causing it
Reply:It may be that the earth moved abit overtime and so it buckled. Or there might be tree branches underneath or some other sort of plant life under the sidewalk. You know that there is dirt under sidewalks so anything might grow, from weeds to whatever else not..


Hope this helps?
Reply:Many causes could be ascribed as some of the answers speak.


However, unless a part is opened and examined the real cause cannot be said.


Some plausible causes can be:


Lateral compression due to traffic loading on the adjacent roads.


Loading due to buildings at the sides.


Expansion due to roots and water absorption by subsurface strata, etc.


thnks
Reply:Think your to heavy on the blades joking be the frost don%26#039;t worry
Reply:Maybe it is getting wet underneath the sidewalks, like from leaking water or sewer pipes, or underground water bubbling up.
Reply:well it could be possible that frost and snow in winter causes it to shrink, since all things expand in heat. which means that when the hot summer came it expanded and cracked. thats the main reason we have to fill in cracks on roads.





it may also be that there are tree roots undernath pushing up the concrete. this is typical for a suburban neighborhood thta has sidewalks lined with trees.





I hope my answer helps!





your thirteen year old advisor
Reply:Concrete does contract and expand. The buckling is caused from moisture, heat and cold.
Reply:global cooling
Reply:Any trees nearby? Most sidewalk lifting throughout the country is caused by tree roots lifting the soil below the sidewalks.





If not, expansive soil could be the culprit. Expansive soils are like clay or soils that when they absorb water, the soil actually expands like a sponge does when it gets wet.
Reply:worms eating the dirt, or moles, fat ppl walk there all the time, tree roots, or a Chinese person dug a deep hole jk



small business web