Patching Potholes in Paved Streets

Potholes are caused by the freeze-thaw cycle that generally runs from mid-February to sometime in April. During the warm part of the day, the road surface thaws and run-off collects in the cracks in the pavement. When the temperature falls below freezing again, the ground and water re-freezes and naturally expands, which breaks up the pavement. Then traffic pops out these broken sections of pavement, creating potholes.

During pothole season, City maintenance crews repair these nuisances daily. Priority is given to the more heavily traveled roads, but all holes are repaired as detected. Unfortunately, with the cold patch materials used for repair and with the thawing and re-freezing conditions, a pothole can be repaired one day and need to be repaired again in a day or two. During the summer months crews use either a hot asphalt mix or velocity patching to repair potholes and large cracks in the pavement. Both of these methods produce a more permanent repair.

Report Potholes

If you notice a dangerously large or deep pothole, please email Mary Jo Warner, Public Works Administrative Assistant, or call Mary Jo at 763-427-8254, so it can be taken care of as soon as possible.

Please be sure to include a location, such as a cross street or street address. Note that some roads in Ramsey are managed by the County and the State, and requests regarding those roads are not handled by the City. This map shows County roads and State roads. Contact info for each is located below:

• County Roads (green in PDF above)
  • Anoka County Highway
  • 763-324-3100
• State Roads (red in PDF above)
  • MnDOT Dispatch
  • 651-237-7110
    • General number for the Metro Division Office, 24-hour number