If asphalt is damaged, in, say, a car accident, how can one close a busy road for "patch work" for things?

Question

Does the asphalt need to be broken up and the ground re-compacted? Do people need to be more aware that sometimes you just have to stop or drive somewhere else?

Answer 1

You've seen how the highway department does it... that's how it's done. There are procedures for how to redirect traffic, how to protect the work area (so some idiot doesn't plow into the construction workers and kill a bunch of em) etc.

Ordinary citizens do not close or repair busy highways. The highway department does that. The only exception is if one is a utility company working on in-street utilities, or a railroad working on a crossing.