What will asphalt repair cost me?

Nothing lasts forever, and that’s certainly true of asphalt. Roads, driveways, and parking lots made of asphalt have to stand up to a lot of abuse as heavy vehicles drive across them every day, plus the weather will also cause asphalt to degrade over time. The result is that cracks begin to form, and you get potholes as well.

Keeping these surfaces well-maintained improves property value, as well as improving the experience for anyone who has to drive on the asphalt. So, if your asphalt has developed some problems over the winter, what will the asphalt repair costs be?

1 – How extensive is the damage?

The more damaged an asphalt surface is, the more expensive it will be to repair. When dealing with cracks, the most common process is called infrared asphalt patching. Basically, IR tools are used to heat up the existing asphalt, so that it can then bond with new asphalt being poured into the cracks and holes.

2 – Is there underlying damage?

Patching asphalt by itself is fairly cheap. However, if layers below the asphalt – such as the underlying gravel – have been damaged, the costs can go up quickly. If the underlayers are damaged, a large section of the pavement will have to be dug up before repairs can begin. Then the whole section will have to be re-poured.

3 – Other cost factors

A couple of other things can add to the cost. One is location, and how easy it is to work on the asphalt. If there are a lot of obstacles, or the damage is in a place that repair trucks can’t easily reach, costs will go up.