WASHINGTON – A section of Eastbound Route 50 buckled early Sunday afternoon leaving several vehicles disabled.

The buckle happened on Route 50 EB between routes 197 and 301 in Bowie, Md. Highway engineers are on the scene and say that temperatures higher than 100 degrees likely contributed. It’s described as a large crack across the eastbound side of the highway.

State Highway Administrators have blocked the through lanes, though traffic gets by using the right merge lane.

Administrators don’t yet know how long it will take to repair the damage or how it will affect the Monday evening rush.

WTOP’s traffic reporter Dave Dildine said the time it takes to repair the road depends on the depth of the collapse.

“If the road buckle was deep enough to affect the rebar then repairs could take days,” says Dildine. “If it’s just surface-deep a spot repair could allow through lanes to reopen sooner.”

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