SAINT PAUL, MN – City of Saint Paul is investing $2.55 million this summer to improve street pavement conditions across the entire city. The funds have helped to put all available Public Works Street Maintenance staff and resources towards repairing and pothole patching all streets that were damaged by winter weather conditions. Public Works is in the process of “route patching” the entire city, which means they will review and patch all streets, and then go back and skim pave streets in areas that need more extensive work. Crews are expected to patch or skim pave all 530 miles of residential streets and more than 2,000 alleys throughout Saint Paul this summer and into the fall.
Route patching is a more efficient, systematic approach to patching all city streets compared to responding to individual patching requests. Currently, crews are pothole patching in designated areas and addressing each street where needed before moving to the next street and neighborhood area. City crews will review every street in Saint Paul throughout the summer.
“The record-setting winter last year did extensive damage to our streets,” said Mayor Melvin Carter. “Repairing our streets remains our priority. Our Public Works crews continue to do everything they can to improve the safety of our streets and help us reach our goal of patching every street in Saint Paul this year.”
On average a Saint Paul Public Works crew will hand shovel about 15-20 tons of asphalt per day for patching city streets.
Saint Paul Public Works pothole patches year-round; however, route patching the entire city is an extraordinary measure that requires additional dedication of staffing and resources to prepare the city’s streets for next winter.
“The important work done by our street maintenance team cannot be praised enough,” said Sean Kershaw, Director of Saint Paul Public Works. “It is a tough job carried out in often tougher conditions. These men and women know the unique character of what makes each street different from one another and they take great pride to take care of them and keep them safe and usable for all.”
Saint Paul Public Works reminds businesses and residents how they can help the citywide pothole patching efforts:
- Only report potholes on arterial (or main) streets at this time. Public Works is currently concentrating pothole patching efforts on residential streets. With the systematic route patching approach, please be patient as it might take crews longer to respond to patching complaints on residential streets, compared to previous years.
- Move vehicles. Please move any vehicles parked on the street when you see pothole patching crews in your neighborhood. The city will not be posting temporary “No Parking” signs.
- Do not push any materials, including leaves, grass, or debris into the street. Please properly bag and dispose of any leaves, dirt, and grass clippings. Residents can take materials to Ramsey County compost sites, use their residential yard waste services, or if the resident is part of the Citywide Garbage Service, they can put out compostable yard waste bags with their garbage service to be collected at $3 per bag.
- Do not put garbage or recycling carts in the street. Please make sure carts are only placed on the boulevard or driveway apron, not the street.
- Be patient. Public Works will not be able to provide residents with details or timelines about when specific streets will be patched, as the street conditions vary greatly across the city.
For information about Saint Paul’s pothole patching operations, visit www.stpaul.gov/potholes.
Original source can be found here.
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