When Pothole Repairs Make Financial Sense (Especially After a New Jersey Winter)

If you own or manage a commercial property in New Jersey, this winter likely did a number on your parking lot.

Between freeze-thaw cycles, snow plowing, salt, and heavy traffic, potholes tend to multiply quickly once temperatures begin to rise. Every spring, we see the same pattern — parking lots that had minor issues in November suddenly have dozens of potholes by March.

And one of the most common questions property owners ask is:

“Should I repair these potholes — or just repave the whole lot?”

The answer depends on timing, budget, and long-term plans for the property.

Let’s walk through it.

Real Pothole Repair Pricing Examples In New Jersey

To make budgeting easier, FixAsphalt offers flat-rate pothole repair packages for commercial properties.

Small Repair Package

$2,495
Includes multiple pothole repairs using hot mix asphalt patching.

Best for:

• Smaller parking lots
• Moderate pothole activity
• Immediate safety concerns

Large Repair Package

$4,995
Designed for properties with a high quantity of potholes across the lot.

Best for:

• Office complexes
• Retail centers
• Industrial properties
• Storage facilities
• Properties planning to mill and pave later

This approach allows property owners to restore safety across the lot without committing to a full paving project immediately.

Why Potholes Get Worse After Winter in New Jersey

New Jersey winters are particularly tough on asphalt.

Water enters cracks in the pavement, freezes, expands, and breaks apart the asphalt structure underneath. Snow plows accelerate the damage by catching weakened edges. By late winter, the pavement surface begins collapsing into potholes.

If repairs aren’t made quickly, potholes grow larger and deeper, creating:

• Trip hazards
• Vehicle damage risks
• ADA compliance concerns
• Liability exposure
• Water infiltration into the base

Ignoring potholes rarely saves money — it usually increases repair costs later.

When Infrared or Cut-and-Replace Repairs Don’t Make Sense

                                   Asphalt Cut-Out Repairs                                                                                   Infrared Asphalt Restoration

Infrared asphalt restoration and saw-cut removal and replacement are excellent long-term repair methods. We use them every day.

But they are not always the most cost-effective option.

When a parking lot has:

• A large quantity of potholes
• Aging asphalt (PASER 4–6 range)
• Plans for future milling and paving
• Limited maintenance budget this year

More permanent repair methods often don’t provide the best financial return.

That’s where throw-and-patch hot mix asphalt repairs come in.

The Most Cost-Effective Option: Throw-and-Patch with Hot Mix Asphalt

Throw-and-patch repairs use hot mix asphalt to fill potholes quickly and safely across large areas of pavement deterioration.

This approach is ideal when:

• You need fast repairs
• There are many potholes
• Repaving is planned within several years
• Budget is limited
• Safety is the immediate priority

While not considered a permanent structural repair, properly installed hot mix patching can provide a 5–7 year service life, especially in medium-traffic commercial parking lots.

For many property owners, this creates the perfect bridge strategy between today’s budget realities and future capital improvements.

Why Throw-and-Patch Repairs Deliver More Value Per Dollar

When a parking lot has a large number of potholes, the conversation often shifts from “What is the best repair?” to “What repair provides the most value right now?”

This is where throw-and-patch repairs using hot mix asphalt often make the most financial sense.

Infrared asphalt restoration and saw-cut removal and replacement are more permanent repair methods, but they are also significantly more labor-intensive and expensive per repair area. When potholes are widespread across a parking lot, these methods can quickly consume a maintenance budget before the majority of hazards are addressed.

In many real-world situations, throw-and-patch repairs can address three to four times as many potholes for the same budget compared to infrared or cut-and-replace repairs.

For example:

If a property owner has a $5,000 repair budget, they may be able to:

• Permanently repair a smaller number of potholes using removal and replacement, or
• Repair most or all potholes across the parking lot using hot mix patching.

From a risk-management and asset-stabilization standpoint, covering more potholes often delivers greater immediate value than fixing only a few areas permanently while leaving others to continue deteriorating.

This approach is especially effective when:

• The asphalt is aging overall
• Potholes are appearing in multiple areas
• Milling and paving is planned within the next several years
• Safety and liability are immediate concerns

Instead of investing heavily in permanent repairs on pavement that will eventually be replaced, throw-and-patch repairs allow property owners to maximize coverage, restore safety, and extend the usable life of the parking lot at a lower cost per repair.

It’s not about choosing the “cheapest” repair — it’s about choosing the right repair for the stage of the pavement lifecycle.

The Financial Strategy Property Owners Use

We often see property owners take a phased capital planning approach:

Year 1:
Pothole patching across the lot

Year 2–3:
Targeted asphalt repairs

Year 3–5:
Mill and pave project

This prevents emergency failures while allowing capital budgets to be planned responsibly.

Think of pothole patching as stabilizing the asset, not rebuilding it.

The Mistake Property Owners Make

The biggest mistake we see is doing nothing while waiting for a future paving project.

Potholes don’t stay the same size.
They grow quickly.

What might cost a few thousand dollars today can become a six-figure paving project sooner than expected if water continues damaging the base.

Watch How Throw-and-Patch Repairs Work

“When a parking lot has dozens of potholes after a New Jersey winter, the goal isn’t perfection — it’s restoring safety quickly and cost-effectively. Throw-and-patch repairs allow us to stabilize the pavement and eliminate hazards across the entire property in a single visit. For many property owners, it’s the smartest way to protect the parking lot while planning for future paving.”

— FixAsphalt Pavement Team

In the video below, you’ll see our crew performing a throw-and-patch repair using hot mix asphalt. The process is straightforward but highly effective when done properly:

• Cleaning the pothole
• Installing hot mix asphalt
• Compacting the material to restore the surface
• Sealing the repair into the surrounding pavement

This method allows large numbers of potholes to be repaired quickly, safely, and at a fraction of the cost of structural repairs — which is why it’s often the best solution when a parking lot has widespread winter damage.

The Bottom Line

After a winter like this one in New Jersey, pothole repairs are often unavoidable.

When your parking lot has a large number of potholes and repaving isn’t scheduled yet, throw-and-patch hot mix asphalt repairs are often the most cost-effective solution available.

They:

• Restore safety
• Reduce liability
• Slow pavement deterioration
• Buy time for capital planning
• Provide a realistic 5–7 year service life

And most importantly, they keep your property operational.

How to Think About the Value

If your parking lot has widespread pothole activity after a New Jersey winter, the goal is often coverage, safety, and stabilization, not perfection.

For the same repair budget, throw-and-patch repairs can typically address 3–4 times more potholes, dramatically reducing trip hazards and liability across the property.

Infrared and removal-and-replacement repairs are excellent solutions — but they’re best used when potholes are isolated problems, not when deterioration is happening across the entire lot.

That’s why many commercial property owners use throw-and-patch repairs as a bridge strategy until capital paving projects can be scheduled.

Need Help Assessing Your Parking Lot?

FixAsphalt can evaluate your property and help you determine whether pothole patching, infrared repair, or replacement makes the most financial sense.

Because the right repair strategy depends on:

• Pavement condition
• Traffic levels
• Budget
• Ownership timeline

Schedule an assessment or upload photos of your parking lot to get started.