How Much Does Asphalt Driveway Repair Cost in Georgia?
Asphalt driveway repairs cost $250 to $800 on average, according to one national cost guide. Its national average is about $500. A second guide puts the average driveway repair at $400 to $1,200. In that guide, most homeowners pay around $750 to fix a 200 square foot section of crumbling driveway.
Larger jobs run higher. A third guide’s project data leans toward bigger repairs and runs $1,069 to $4,025, with an average of $2,468. These are market numbers from national cost guides, not our price list. Treat them as a starting point for asphalt driveway repair cost in Georgia.
What does each type of asphalt driveway repair cost?
The guides price cracks by the linear foot and patches by the square foot. Potholes and problem spots come as a price for the whole repair. The first five rows come from one national cost guide, and the last four from a second.
| Repair | Market range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Crack filling | $0.50 to $3.00 per linear foot | A third guide puts small cracks at $1 to $3 per linear foot |
| Pothole | $100 to $400 | The second guide puts a driveway pothole at $150 to $400 |
| Hot patch | $2 to $5 per square foot | New hot asphalt filled in and compacted |
| Saw-cut (full-depth) repair | $4 to $12 per square foot | Old asphalt sawed out, new gravel base and hot mix |
| Cold patch | $2 to $4 per square foot installed | A temporary fix |
| Driveway apron | $200 to $1,000 | Where the drive meets the street |
| Tree-root damage | $300 to $1,200 | Roots pushing up the asphalt |
| Crumbling section | $300 to $1,500 | About $750 for 200 square feet |
| Sunken section | $500 to $3,000 | A part of the drive that has dropped |
On our asphalt repair jobs, we cut out the failed area. We rebuild the base where it failed and put back hot mix. We also fill cracks ahead of sealcoating. Where a repair lands in these ranges depends on what has failed underneath.
What moves the cost to repair an asphalt driveway?
Size. Patches are priced by the square foot, so a bigger area costs more. In the second guide, the high end, about $3,000, is a 600 square foot repair.
Depth and base. One guide puts a hot patch at $2 to $5 per square foot. A saw-cut repair with a new gravel base runs $4 to $12. The same guide says cracking is a sign of sub-base failure or poor drainage. Where the base has failed, the repair has to reach it.
How many spots. One guide puts the patching itself at $25 to $40 per pothole. On top of that comes a $100 to $250 charge for bringing out the machinery and crew. On one small pothole, most of the bill is that trip. Several spots fixed on one visit share it.
Access. A loaded dump truck and a roller need a way in and room to work. A tight gate or a steep drive adds time to the job.
Should you patch the surface or rebuild the base?
It depends on whether the base under the spot has failed. One national cost guide says hot mix surface patches typically replace 2 inches of asphalt. They last only 1 to 2 years.
Georgia DOT’s resurfacing guide is direct about a failed base. Isolated base failures must be corrected by full-depth patching, also called deep patching. That replaces both the base and the pavement in the small area affected.
The saw-cut repair in the cost guides is the same kind of work. The old asphalt is sawed out, and the area is filled with a new gravel base and hot mix. One guide calls saw-cutting the preferred permanent repair for potholes and full-depth damage. A deep patch is how we handle a failed spot.
The same Georgia DOT guide marks where patching ends. Widespread cracking in the wheel paths, the two strips where tires roll, is clear evidence of inadequate structural strength. Overlaying distress that widespread is not cost-effective, the guide says. One alternative it names is reconstruction.
Why do small cracks turn into potholes?
Water gets in. One national cost guide says potholes start with moisture getting into the cracks. A second guide says the main cause of a crack is often poor drainage. Water builds up and wears the asphalt.
One guide compares two treatments for cracks. Crack filling is a short-term fix that lasts 1 to 2 years, it says. Crack sealing puts a rubberized sealer into active cracks and lasts 3 to 8 years. It keeps water and debris out of the cracks.
On a sealcoating job, we fill the cracks before the sealer goes on. The sealcoating industry’s best-practice guide says extensive patching should be allowed to cure before seal coating. Extensive alligator cracking and soft or sunken spots mean the pavement or base needs repair or replacement, it says.
Once the repairs are in, how often to sealcoat an asphalt driveway is its own question.
When does asphalt driveway repair stop paying off?
When the damage is spread across the drive. One national cost guide says resurfacing is the better option for a driveway with many potholes. A third guide puts full replacement at $3,000 to $10,000.
Compare that with the top of the repair ranges. The second guide’s 600 square foot repair runs about $3,000, and a sunken section can reach $3,000. That is where full replacement starts in the third guide.
If the base still holds across most of the drive, look at asphalt resurfacing. That puts a new layer of hot mix over the old pavement. Our guide to asphalt driveway resurfacing cost in Georgia covers that price. If the base has failed throughout, start with what a new asphalt driveway costs in Georgia.
Is cold patch worth it as a stopgap?
As a stopgap, yes. One national cost guide says cold patch is often used in winter, when it is too cold for hot mix. The same guide calls it a less effective, temporary fix.
Installed, it costs close to a hot patch. That guide puts cold patch at $2 to $4 per square foot, against $2 to $5 for a hot patch.
Asphalt industry driveway guidance says small holes and cracks can be filled with driveway maintenance products. Homeowners can find those at hardware and building supply stores. Either way, plan on a hot mix repair once the weather warms up.
What does asphalt repair cost on a small business lot?
A small business lot gets the same repairs on a bigger footprint, and the same things move the price. Read a lot the way you read a driveway.
A few failed spots in a sound lot are patch work. Cracking spread across the lanes where cars and trucks run is the widespread kind Georgia DOT’s guide warns about. That lot may need parking lot paving from the base up.
On a lot, we plan the work in phases with you. Where a patch crosses stall lines, the lines get painted back with parking lot striping.
What will asphalt patching cost on your driveway?
Every range above is a national market figure. Your driveway has its own failed spots and its own base underneath.
We are based in Cartersville, working Northwest Georgia and the north side of metro Atlanta. We come out, look at the site, measure the areas that need work and give you an estimate. We also tell you when patching is money well spent and when the drive needs an overlay or replacement instead. Call or text (706) 844-2123, or read more about asphalt repair and patching.