Pot Hole Repairs

Patching Methods

The City of Lewiston utilizes a number of different methods for repairing small distressed areas on paved city roads. All of the methods were developed to accomplish the same general task assignment of repairing defects in deteriorated asphalt pavement surfaces.

Resource commitment, the length of time that a repair may last, and the ability to accomplish timely pavement repairs in an efficient manner, differ for each method.

Specific Patching Methods

Learn more about specific patching methods we use:

• Place and Roll Pothole Patching (PDF)
• Quality Patching (PDF)
• Report a Pothole

Effects of Patching

Any repair patch or street cut in a paved road surface is considered by definition to be pavement distress. A quality patch performed using proper construction methods and under the best conditions does not restore the asphalt pavement to its original structural integrity. At best, a quality patch will downgrade a high severity distress condition to a low severity pavement distress.

Road Damage From Patching

On roads with marginal asphalt mat surfaces or with base problems, the process of quality patching can actually damage the asphalt surface outside of the patch area. When this happens, the quality patch will be good, but the asphalt surface surrounding the patch will disintegrate. Road damage can, in effect, spread from the repaired area. Quality patch pavement repairs require utilization of a significantly larger crew than what is needed for "place and roll" pot hole patching.

Time Required

Response time for this type of repair will be much slower than a "place and roll" patch. More manpower and equipment resources are needed to conduct the work. A quality patch repair of a distressed road section will take much longer to complete than a "place and roll" pot hole patch. A repair that might take five minutes for a "place and roll" response repair might take an hour or longer to fix as a quality patch