New Asphalt Paving in Colorado Springs, CO

Asphalt paving here means building a new or replacement driveway from the subgrade up, and in Colorado Springs the soil and the slope decide more of the result than the asphalt does. Clay loams over shale on much of the plains side swell when wet, the coarse sandy Pring soils of the Black Forest area drain quickly, and hillside lots can run as steep as the city's 20 percent limit for individual driveways. A sound asphalt driveway installation starts with drainage and base, then the mat, and any work at the curb needs a right-of-way permit. For fixing an existing drive instead, see asphalt patching.

Base is where local conditions show. On clay loams such as Razor or Midway, which NRCS describes as slowly permeable with shale somewhere between 10 and 40 inches down, a paving contractor should strip topsoil, shape the subgrade to shed water, dig out soft or wet clay rather than pave over it, and compact a layer of crushed aggregate before any asphalt goes down. On rapidly draining Pring coarse sandy loam the concern shifts to compaction and edge support. Woodland Park's standard for single-family driveways sets a 2-inch minimum asphalt thickness, a floor rather than a target for a drive that carries trucks.

Paving a private driveway on grade needs no building permit from the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department, whose code exempts private driveways and sidewalks. The connection to the street is another matter. In Colorado Springs, constructing or repairing a driveway, curb and gutter or sidewalk in the right-of-way requires a concrete contractor license and a permit under City Code 3.3.5. Monument requires a town access permit for a new or modified driveway onto a public street, and Fountain, Manitou Springs and Woodland Park each run their own right-of-way or driveway permits.

Hillside lots bring their own limits. Inside the city's hillside overlay, individual driveways should not exceed 20 percent and shared drives 15 percent, and a driveway that serves as required fire access must be at least 12 feet wide with a grade no steeper than 12 percent. The fire department's access packet asks that fire apparatus roads support an 80,000-pound vehicle. On a steep grade, compaction of the mat, drainage at the bottom of the slope and a sand-loaded first seal all bear on traction.

Hot mix goes down in the warm months. The airport's median freeze-free season runs 152 days, from May 5 to October 4, and new asphalt then needs time to cure before its first seal: SealMaster's guidance is at least 30 to 60 days, and its MasterSeal specification cites four weeks at 70 degrees. A drive paved in June can often take its first coat late that summer, while one paved in September waits for the next July, when nights stay warm enough for driveway sealing.

An overlay adds a new layer over a sound old drive; HomeGuide's repair guide prices resurfacing at $1 to $3 a square foot and Angi at $1 to $4. A full tear-out and new asphalt driveway runs $5 to $12 or more per square foot in HomeGuide's figures and $8 to $15 in Angi's. Laid over heaved or alligatored pavement, an overlay tends to crack along the old lines, so replacement with a corrected base is usually the sounder spend on clay.