Asphalt Driveway Paving in Corpus Christi, TX

Asphalt driveway paving in Corpus Christi is as much about water as it is about asphalt. A new driveway is a few inches of hot-mix laid on a compacted stone base, and on a lot that sits only a few feet above sea level, the way that surface is sloped decides whether rain runs to the street or soaks into the base. Most of the failed driveways we look at here (sunken tire tracks, potholes by the garage, edges breaking into the yard) trace back to water that had no place to go.

When a driveway is due for replacement

• Cracks have joined into a web or alligator pattern over large areas
• Potholes come back in the same spots after patching
• Water stands in the same low areas after every rain
• Edges are crumbling into the lawn or the shell shoulder
• The surface is more patch than original asphalt

HomeGuide's guidance is a useful rule of thumb: resurfacing makes sense when less than about a quarter of the surface is damaged and the base is sound; replacement makes sense when cracking covers most of it or the base has failed.

Base and subgrade

Local ground ranges from sandy to clay-heavy, with caliche in places. We dig test holes where the old driveway failed, remove soft or organic material, and build the base back with compacted crushed stone. Cost guides describe a typical residential section as 2 to 3 inches of compacted asphalt over 6 to 8 inches of compacted gravel, and 3 to 4 inches over 8 to 10 inches for driveways that carry work trucks, boats or RVs. Your quote states the depths we are building to.

Shell and gravel conversions

Many older properties around the Coastal Bend have shell or caliche drives. Those can make a good base once they are regraded, topped up with fresh stone and compacted, which can save money compared with digging everything out. We check thickness and firmness first; a shell drive that ruts when wet needs more than a cap of asphalt.

Where the driveway meets the street

In Corpus Christi, the approach between your property line and the street is in the city right-of-way. Building a new approach, replacing an existing approach, sidewalk or curb, or extending an approach needs a permit from the city's Right-of-Way Management team, with a $95 application fee listed on the October 2023 form, 72 hours' notice and an inspection. If we are tying new asphalt into an existing approach, we taper the joint so it drains and does not leave a lip. If the approach itself needs work, we tell you at the estimate and plan the permit into the schedule.

Heat and timing

Hot-mix has to be compacted before it cools, so very cool, wet days are a poor fit, while mid-summer afternoons leave fresh asphalt soft for longer. We schedule paving for the cooler part of the day in summer and ask you to keep vehicles off until the surface has set. Sealcoating waits until the new asphalt has cured, usually 3 to 6 months.