A blast of steel balls could fix a slick stretch of pavement at the Beltway's 'Big Curve' Can an innovative technique compared to thousands of blasts from a shotgun roughen and repair a section of the Beltway that's seen dozens of big truck crashes? Author: Bruce Leshan Updated: 7:17 PM EST February 5, 2021 BETHESDA, Md. — Back in September, WUSA9 told viewers about a pretty scary wave of big truck crashes on a notorious stretch of the Outer Loop in Bethesda called the Big Curve: 36 wrecks in less than six months. Miraculously, none of them were deadly. Starting Monday, the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT), State Highway Administration is launching a remarkable plan to fix the problem. It's planning to blast thousands of tiny steel balls into the pavement to make it less slick.