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Twin Cities
MPR News Staff and Nicole Ki

Asphalt plant ready to help crews fill potholes as St. Paul residents report much more damage

Factory
As the weather warms, city officials opened the St. Paul Asphalt Plant and talked about damage to vehicles on Thursday.
Nicole Ki | MPR News

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St. Paul streets are failing at a faster rate than city maintenance workers can keep up with, city officials said as they announced the official opening of its asphalt plant on Thursday. And they warned the long-awaited repairs will take longer.

“This is the worst season for potholes we've ever had, because of the weather we had this winter and because of the age of our streets,” said Sean Kershaw, St. Paul’s public works director.

St. Paul's first priority is filling the most dangerous potholes. Then they will focus on arterial and collector streets and lastly, residential roads. Previously, the city used a smaller stash of more durable “hot-mix” to fix streets.

Mayor Melvin Carter said this season's potholes caused residents to report what he says is a staggering number of damage claims this year.

“In 2022, we received 85 claims for pothole damage for the entire 12 months of the year. And for the first two months of 2023, we received 250 claims for pothole damage so we see the impact it's having on people in our community as well,” Carter said.

The mayor is proposing funding infrastructure improvements through a sales tax increase. Carter said the share of paying for better roads would then be shared by the city’s visitors.

The St. Paul Asphalt Plant supplies road repair crews throughout Minnesota, which are expected to start hauling away the material many associate with spring on Friday.