A crack is not cosmetic, it is an entry point for water, and water is what kills asphalt. Once water gets through a crack into the base, our freeze-thaw winters take over, prying it wider with every cold snap. A hairline crack left open in October can be a half-inch gap by March, which is why sealing cracks before winter matters more here than in a climate that does not freeze.
Thin cracks under about a quarter inch are the doorway water uses to reach the base. The right response is crack filling followed by sealcoating over the whole driveway. Handled at this stage the cost is small and the driveway gains years of life. Ignored, these become the wide cracks that cost far more.
Once a crack opens past a quarter to half an inch, sealcoating alone will not fix it. It has to be cleaned out and packed with crack filler first, then sealed over. Spraying sealcoat straight over open cracks is the budget shortcut that looks fine for six months before the cracks telegraph back through. On any driveway with real cracks, filling comes first, every time.
The interconnected web that looks like reptile skin means the base under that area has failed. You cannot fill your way out of it. A small isolated patch can be cut out and repaired down to a rebuilt base, but widespread alligator cracking is a resurfacing or replacement conversation, not a crack-filling one.
Crack filling on a residential driveway runs $75 to $300 depending on how much cracking there is, usually bundled with sealcoating for another $150 to $400. Repairing an isolated patch of alligator cracking runs $200 to $600, and full resurfacing runs $2 to $4 per square foot. Sealing thin cracks early is the cheapest point on that curve.
Harrison Paving has repaired and sealed asphalt cracks across Gloucester, Camden, and Burlington Counties since 1985, filling cracks properly before sealcoating. Call (856) 694-4181 for a free on-site assessment.
Contact Harrison Paving at (856) 694-4181 for a free estimate.