Buffalo Launches In-House Hot Patching Operation and Pothole Repair Counter
Mayor Sean Ryan unveils the city's own asphalt patching crew alongside a public-facing pothole repair tracker.
Source: buffalony.gov ↗
Buffalo, New York, launched an in-house hot patching operation and a public-facing Pothole Repair Counter on Sept. 3, with Mayor Sean Ryan crediting FY2026-2027 budget investments for equipment that lets Department of Public Works crews place and compact hot asphalt rather than rely solely on cold patches.
The city purchased a hot box with a roughly three-ton asphalt capacity and an accompanying roller. The hot box can also run cold-mix asphalt in winter, giving crews a better-compacted repair when hot material is unavailable from closed plants.
DPW’s dedicated hot patching crew consists of four employees and one supervisor. They will work Monday through Friday from April through November, the period when asphalt plants operate.
Crew training came through a previously announced partnership with Erie County, New York, under which county crews shared equipment and expertise with Buffalo’s Engineering Division over several months before the city took possession of its own gear.
“We promised residents we would fix our streets by giving our crews the right equipment to do the job properly,” Ryan said. “Erie County helped us get started, trained our workers, and proved what was possible, now Buffalo has its own hot patching operation, and we are building the capacity to make longer-lasting repairs across the city.”
Dispatch priority will turn on temperature, pothole size and condition, traffic volume, emergency-route designation and whether a location has logged recurring failures. As of Sept. 3, DPW had closed more than 4,100 pothole-related 311 service requests in 2026; the counter does not capture additional potholes filled during routine roadway maintenance outside the 311 system.
The online Pothole Repair Counter, available at www.buffalony.gov/potholes, displays a map-based view of all 311 pothole reports filed in 2026, showing closed cases and open requests. The source did not disclose the purchase price for the hot box and roller.
