Asphalt Paving in Columbus, OH

Asphalt paving in Columbus is mostly a contest with water. The city sits on flat ground left by the glaciers, the clay-rich till soils common across this part of Ohio drain slowly, and the area averages about 41.6 inches of precipitation a year. Then winter adds freeze-thaw cycles, snowplows and salt. A driveway or lot built with a thin base and no plan for runoff will crack, pothole and settle in a few seasons. One built on compacted stone, with the water steered off and away, can carry cars for decades.

Flat ground and slow-draining soil

Glaciers covered most of Ohio during the last ice age, which is why Columbus is so level. Level is easy to pave, but it gives rain nowhere to go. The USDA describes Crosby soils, which cover a large area of the Ohio and Indiana till plains, as somewhat poorly drained, with a clay-heavy subsoil and a seasonal high water table perched within about half a foot to two feet of the surface in winter and spring. That is exactly the season when pavement is under the most stress. When the base under asphalt stays wet, it softens, the wheel paths sink, and fine cracks spread into the web pattern called alligator cracking.

We deal with that before any asphalt arrives. Soft spots are dug out and replaced with crushed stone, the base is compacted in layers to the depth stated in your quote, and the surface is pitched so water sheds to the lawn, a swale or a drain instead of sitting at the garage or the apron.

Freeze, thaw and road salt

Columbus winters hover right around the freezing line. Normals for John Glenn airport give a January average high of 37.1 degrees and an average low of 22.0, so on a typical January day the pavement thaws in the afternoon and refreezes overnight, and the city averages about 28 inches of snow a year. Water that seeps into a crack expands when it freezes, opens the crack wider, and lets more water in at the next thaw. That cycle repeats all winter, and it is how a hairline crack becomes a pothole by March. Plow blades catch raised edges and broken patches, and salt brine carried in on tires keeps the surface wet. Sealing cracks before winter and keeping a sound sealcoat on the surface are the cheapest ways to stop that damage early.

Hilly pockets and ravine lots

Not all of Columbus is flat. Alum Creek, the Olentangy River and their tributaries have cut ravines through shale on the north and east sides, and the Scioto's tributaries cut through limestone. Homes on ravine lots often have sloped driveways where runoff speeds up and eats at the downhill edge. On those jobs we pay extra attention to supported edges, compaction on the grade and where the water leaves the pavement.

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Where the driveway meets the street

The apron, curb and sidewalk at the end of a driveway sit in the public right-of-way, but in Columbus the owner still maintains them: the city points to City Code 905.06, which makes property owners responsible for sidewalks, driveway entrances and the curb at those entrances. Installing, removing or repairing a driveway approach onto a public street takes the city's 905 New or Replacement Sidewalk and Driveway Approach permit from the Department of Public Service's Right-of-Way Permit Section. The city encourages homeowners to have their contractor file for permits, and it is blunt about the stakes: if the work does not meet city standards, the homeowner, as permittee, is responsible for corrections, up to complete removal and replacement.

If your curb is damaged, ask about timing before you replace it. The city's Curb Reimbursement Program partially repays residential owners who repair or replace existing curb ahead of a city street resurfacing, when funds allow, and it requires an application and inspection before the work starts. Suburbs such as Dublin, Westerville, Hilliard and Grove City, and the townships around them, run their own processes. We sort out which rules apply at the estimate, and before any machine digs, we contact OHIO811, which asks for at least 48 hours' notice, not counting weekends and holidays.

What goes into a new driveway

• Measuring the area and checking slope, low spots and the street connection
• Removing old asphalt, concrete or worn gravel and hauling it away
• Digging out soft or wet subgrade and replacing it with crushed stone
• Grading and compacting the stone base to the depth in your quote
• Placing and rolling hot-mix asphalt to the stated compacted thickness
• Finishing edges and transitions at the garage, walks and apron
• First-season care instructions and a timeline for the first sealcoat

We are based in Columbus and pave across the city and the suburbs around it. To the north and northwest are Dublin, Westerville and Delaware; to the west and south, Hilliard, Upper Arlington and Grove City; to the east, Gahanna, Reynoldsburg and Pickerington. The work is similar from town to town, but the rules are not. Columbus, each suburb and each township sets its own permit process for driveway aprons, curb cuts and work near the street, and the soil, slope and age of the homes change from one neighborhood to the next. Each town page below covers what is particular to that community. If your town is not listed, call us anyway.