A melting road caused a sticky situation for unlucky motorists in northern Australia after their vehicles were left “drowning in tar” following a spell of unseasonably hot weather.
The melting bitumen on a recently resurfaced road in Queensland’s far north caused “massive damage” to vehicles and resulted in the route being temporarily closed.
Tyres were left caked in the black, sticky substance after it lifted from the quasi-solid passage as temperatures rose to 24.7C (76.4F) on the back of a period of wet weather.
“It was like we were insects caught in a spider’s web and we were sinking,” motorist Bridget Daley told Australian media.
“There were people that were pulled up on the side of the road and they were in total and complete disbelief as to what had happened to their vehicles.”
Photos shared online showed tyres completely covered in inches of gloopy bitumen on the road in Atherton Tablelands, located roughly 170 miles south of the city of Cairns.
“The sun came out and then all vehicles that entered this road, became stuck in the melting bitumen as tar piled up around the tyres,” explained Queensland resident Margaret Campbell, who shared photos of the unpassable road on social media. “They could not move!"
Local resident Alison Harris called the melting road a “nightmare”, posting in a Facebook group discussing local news issues: “Cars are literally stuck and seized up.”
The situation was labelled “ridiculous”, “unbelievable” and a “disaster” by other locals. One posted: “Not only is it chipped windscreens now, cars are drowning in tar! What next?”
Queensland resident Deborah Stacey posted on Facebook: “A tiny glimmer of sunshine made black honey out of the road.”
The Department of Transport and Main Roads in Queensland confirmed the road had been resurfaced last week, blaming the farcical situation on the recent variable weather conditions.
“It’s a combination of factors,” district director Sandra Burke told ABC Australia. “We have extreme weather conditions … unusually cold and wet weather combined with works at hand and the short impact of the hot weather yesterday caused the situation to occur.”
However the warm weather excuse was disputed by local residents. “Gravel began popping out of the bitumen over a week ago, local businesses have replaced over 300 windscreens,” claimed Ms Campbell.
“The road was disgraceful before the roadworks even started,” added Ms Stacey. “Travelling the road every day was like pothole roulette.”
Melinda Morris, who witnessed the traffic chaos, added: “I honestly could not believe my eyes.”
Wendy Burgess was one of a number of people who lamented how much the mistake would cost the taxpayer: “Just incredible how badly this has gone wrong … The bill for this muck up will be huge.”
Shane Knuth, a Queensland MP, said the damage was “unacceptable”, adding: “It's time for the State Government to ensure road upgrade tenders are prioritised for locals who have an understanding of weather conditions in wet tropic regions.”
The transport department has offered to compensate motorists for any damage the road has caused to their vehicles.
In January, a similar incident saw a road begin to melt following a heatwave in the southeastern state of Victoria as temperatures soared to 38C (100.4F).
Meanwhile, the recent extended spell of warm weather in the UK saw gritters deployed after roads became so hot that they started to melt and stick to tyres.
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