Asphalt Repair & Patching in Eagan, MN

Asphalt repair and patching covers the damage that shows up between full replacements: potholes, sunken areas, frost-heaved sections, broken edges and trench cuts left after utility work. In Minnesota most of it traces back to water and frost. Water gets under the surface through a crack, freezes, lifts the pavement, then leaves a void when it thaws. Cars break the unsupported asphalt and a pothole opens. A lasting repair fixes the base under the hole, not just the hole.

Repair methods

• Saw-cut hot patch. The damaged area is cut square, removed, the base is repaired and compacted, and new hot-mix is placed and rolled. The most durable patch for failed areas.
• Infrared repair. The existing asphalt is heated, reworked with fresh material and compacted, leaving no cold joint. Suited to surface damage over a sound base.
• Cold patch. A temporary fill for winter or emergencies, until a permanent repair can be made.
• Edge rebuild. Crumbled edges are cut back, the shoulder base rebuilt and new asphalt placed and backed with soil.

Spring is when damage shows up

MnDOT restricts truck weights on many roads each spring because thawing pavement is saturated and weak, with water trapped above ground that is still frozen. Its research puts spring damage at about five times summer damage per day. Driveways and lots behave the same way, which is why many owners first notice heaves, ruts and potholes in March and April. The best time to repair them is once the ground has thawed and dried, usually late spring.

Patch or replace?

A few isolated failures are worth patching. When failures cover a large share of the surface, or new ones keep appearing, the base is breaking down overall, and the money is better spent on an overlay or replacement. We give you the numbers for both when the decision is close.

Commercial and HOA lots

Townhome associations and businesses often need repairs done in phases so residents and customers keep access. We can sequence patches by area, then follow with crack sealing, sealcoating and restriping so the lot is done in one cycle.

What we look at

At the estimate we note where water collects, check for soft areas around each failure, and look for the cause: a downspout emptying onto the pavement, a low spot, a buried root or a utility trench that settled. Fixing the cause is part of the quote whenever it can be fixed.