How to Compare Asphalt Paving Bids

Example: Contractor A bids $84,000 and includes milling, 3 inches of compacted asphalt, striping, and traffic control. Contractor B bids $67,000 and includes a 2-inch overlay, no striping, and no base repair. Contractor C bids $92,000 and includes full-depth replacement in failed areas and overlay elsewhere. These are not three prices for the same work — they are three different scopes.

Run the numbers and the "cheap" bid gets more interesting. Assume all three cover 42,000 square feet. Contractor A works out to about $0.67 per inch of asphalt per square foot. Contractor B works out to $0.80 per inch — 20 percent more per inch of asphalt while delivering less pavement, no striping, and no base repair. The lowest total price can be the most expensive material in the comparison.

Start by confirming the same area is included: total square footage, work limits, site map, drive lanes, parking stalls, entrances, aprons, private roads, and excluded areas. If one bid includes 42,000 square feet and another includes 35,000 square feet, the total price comparison is misleading.

Each bid should state whether the work is new paving, overlay, mill and overlay, full removal and replacement, full-depth patching plus overlay, or partial replacement. A 2-inch overlay is not the same project as full removal and replacement.

Look for proposed thickness, whether it's compacted, whether it's the same thickness in heavy traffic areas as in stalls, and lift count. Thickness is a major cost driver — a thin overlay may be cheaper, but it may not solve the same problem as replacement. Confirm every bid states compacted thickness, since loose asphalt compacts roughly 20 to 25 percent under rolling.

Base work may be included, excluded, or only included as an allowance. Check for grading, compaction, aggregate base, soft spot repair, proof rolling, a base repair allowance, a unit price for extra base work, and a change order process. If base repair is excluded, the bid may increase after demolition.

Drainage can change the real scope. Check whether each bid addresses visible problems — ponding, sunken areas near drains, settlement over trenches — the same way. If one contractor includes drainage correction and another excludes it, the pricing is not comparable. The full list of drainage items a proposal should address is in the Asphalt Paving Proposal Checklist.

Parking lots usually need striping after paving, and it's a common place where a low bid quietly drops scope. Confirm each bid includes the same markings, or clearly excludes striping so it can be priced separately with Parking Lot Striping Contractors.

For occupied properties, compare phasing, barricades, notices, work hours, weekend or night work, flagging, emergency access, and reopening time. A bid without access planning may be cheaper but more disruptive.

Price per square foot is useful only after scope is normalized — it's less useful when bids differ in thickness, milling depth, base work, striping, phasing, traffic control, disposal, or drainage. When thickness differs, divide again by inches of asphalt, as in the example above. Price per inch per square foot exposes thin bids fast.