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Asphalt Patching & Potholes in Saint Paul, MN
Asphalt patching replaces a failed section of pavement, from a single pothole to a sunken strip along the alley, with new hot-mix asphalt on a firm base, and in Saint Paul the need peaks right after the thaw. The city saw it in 2026: Public Works reported more potholes than usual after wet weather and numerous freeze-thaw cycles, and its asphalt plant opened for the season on March 4 so crews could begin permanent hot-mix repairs. Driveways fail by the same mechanism on a smaller scale. Water gets under the surface, the ground softens as it thaws, and a wheel pushes the weakened spot down. A proper driveway repair removes the damaged material rather than filling the hole on top of it.
$100 - $400 per pothole; $2 - $12 per sq ft for hot-mix or saw-cut patches · full pricing guide
The city's own crews show the difference between a temporary and a permanent patch. In winter they use a softer, stickier mix that can be compacted into a hole even below freezing, and the city describes those patches as temporary. From spring through fall they use hot mix, the same asphalt used to build new roads, and the city says those patches last anywhere from a year to several years. The same split applies to a driveway: a bag of cold patch in February is first aid, and the real repair waits for hot mix.
Saint Paul makes its own asphalt. The city has owned and operated a plant since 1912, the present one built in 1962, and in 2025 it produced 47,000 tons, of which Public Works used 24,036 tons for mill and overlay, skim paving and pothole patching. It usually shuts down for the year in late November or early December. The same weather governs a private patch: hot mix has to be placed and compacted while it is still hot, which makes permanent patching a warm-season job.
A lasting patch starts with a square cut. The crew saw-cuts or chips out a rectangle a little larger than the visible damage, digs out wet or contaminated base, compacts new aggregate, tacks the vertical edges and places hot mix in lifts, rolling each one. On the sandy outwash under much of the city the subgrade usually firms up once it drains; on silty or filled ground more material comes out. HomeGuide prices hot patching at $2 to $5 per square foot and saw-cut patching at $4 to $12.
Alley aprons take a particular beating. Owners maintain the apron and the connection between their pad and the alley, and that strip is where private plow blades, garbage trucks and the step between a paved pad and a gravel or oiled alley all meet. The city fills alley potholes too, but its triage runs arterials first, then residential streets, then alleys. Rebuilding a crumbled apron is a small patching job, and HomeGuide lists garage apron replacement at $4 to $10 per square foot. The crack filling page covers the seams that feed these failures.
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When a pad needs patching instead of sealer
These point to failure below the surface, and a pothole or sunken spot will not respond to a coat of sealer.
- A pothole, or a spot where the asphalt has broken into loose chunks
- Alligator cracking: small, connected plates like a reptile's skin
- A dip that holds water for hours after rain, often near the garage door
- Soft pavement that dents under a parked tire on a hot day
- A broken or crumbling apron where the pad meets the alley
- A winter cold patch that has loosened or sunk
Patch, rebuild the apron, or replace the pad
How much of the pavement has failed determines which repair makes sense.
Spot patch
One or a few failed areas on an otherwise sound pad. Cut them out, rebuild the base, replace with hot mix, and seal the whole surface once the patches have cured.
Rebuild the apron
The strip joining the pad to the alley is broken up while the rest of the pad holds. The owner is responsible for that connection, and it can be rebuilt on its own without touching the rest of the pavement.
Replace the pad
Failures spread across the surface, patches on top of patches, or water pooling against the garage. A new pad with proper base and slope costs more once but ends the cycle of repeat repairs.
Asphalt Patching & Potholes FAQs
Is hardware-store cold patch good enough for a pothole?
As a winter stopgap, yes. The city itself fills potholes with a softer winter mix while its plant is closed and treats those patches as temporary. Tamp it hard, overfill slightly and expect to redo it. Once hot mix is available in spring, the hole should be cut square, cleaned out to firm base and filled with hot asphalt. A pothole in a driveway usually means water is getting under the pad somewhere close by, so look for the crack that fed it.
Why do patches crack around their edges?
Usually because the edges were never cut. A patch dropped into a ragged hole bonds poorly along its sides, water gets into the seam, and the next freeze pries it open, and at MSP that happens on about 78 days a year. Square, vertical saw cuts, a tack coat on the edges and compaction in lifts give the patch solid walls to bond to. Running crack filler along the seam once the patch cools is a cheap way to protect it.
Can a sunken spot by the garage be built back up with new asphalt on top?
It can be skim-patched, but a spot that sank usually sank because the base under it softened or washed out. New asphalt on top adds weight and leaves the cause in place, and the dip tends to come back with a crack around it. The better repair removes the failed section, corrects the base and the grade so water runs away from the slab, and replaces the asphalt. The Minnesota Asphalt Pavement Association's design guide calls for at least a 2 percent slope on paved parking areas.
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