The summer heat wave is too hot for the roads to handle.

The continuous heat has caused parts of Interstate 395 to buckle near Seminary Road and Alexandria over the last few weeks, the Virginia Department of Transportation said.

Road crews have been sent out to repair I-395 two or three dozen times, VDOT spokeswoman Jennifer McCord said.

"Whenever we have temperatures that are consistently high like this, we know there's a good chance of pavement buckling," McCord said.

AAA Mid-Atlantic auto club warned that the weekend's hot temperatures could cause even more roads to crumble. Spokesman John Townsend said the Virginia damage should serve as a wake-up call.

"It's more common than I thought. It's shocking," he said. "Not only is the heat not fit for man or beast, it's not fit for roads," he said.

Super-heated asphalt underlying the highway's concrete expands, causing the damage, McCord explained. Usually road surfaces get the chance to contract in the evening, but consistently high temperatures through the night are forming fissures and bumps that crews must shave off.

Traffic exacerbates the damage, sometimes causing road surfaces to crumble, AAA's Townsend said.

"With all these days over 90, we'll be lucky if we don't see more roads crumble," he said.

Portions of the Capital Beltway near the Woodrow Wilson Bridge were closed from late Friday evening to early Saturday for emergency fixes to potholes caused by excessive summer traffic, bridge project officials said.

The District of Columbia and Maryland have not reported any heat-damaged roads.

"Our maintenance professionals are cognizant that it could happen, but it hasn't happened yet," Maryland State Highway Administration spokesman Charlie Gischlar said.

AAA reported road buckling nationwide, in states as far south as Texas and as far north as Minnesota. In Chicago, Lake Shore Drive's pavement buckled in two places, causing police to shut down all four southbound lanes.

Townsend said lack of rain, aging and lack of routine maintenance could contribute to the problem.

McCord said road crews were trying to do most repair work at night to minimize traffic delays.

VDOT told bikers to be especially careful, as bumps in the highway are most hazardous for motorcycles.