Paving Contractors in Wichita, KS

Paving contractors in Wichita have to build asphalt for two very different seasons. The city's average window for freezing temperatures runs from October 25 to April 9, and the National Weather Service puts the average number of 100-degree days at Wichita's airport at 12.4 a year, with 53 in 2011. A driveway or parking lot here gets months of freeze-thaw cycles and then weeks of hot sun that softens the surface. Asphalt laid on a good base, at the right thickness, and kept sealed handles both. Asphalt laid on soft, wet ground does not.

Why the base matters more than the topcoat

Much of Sedgwick County sits on clay-rich soil. USDA soil survey maps for parts of the county show silty clay series such as Rosehill and Goessel, rated hydrologic soil group D, which means water soaks in very slowly when the ground is wet. Soil like that stays saturated after rain, swells and shrinks with moisture, and loses strength when water freezes in it. If asphalt goes straight onto that subgrade, or onto a thin layer of rock, it flexes under every car until it cracks.

For a residential driveway, HomeGuide's cost guide describes a typical build as 2 to 3 inches of compacted asphalt over 6 to 8 inches of compacted gravel base, with thicker sections for heavy vehicles and 4 inches or more for commercial lots. On every job we check the subgrade first. Soft spots are dug out and replaced with compacted stone, and the base is graded so water runs off the pavement instead of sitting under it.

Drainage and freeze-thaw

Water is the main enemy of asphalt in Kansas. It gets into a crack, freezes, expands, and pries the crack wider. In spring it softens the base below. A surface that sheds water to the edges, edges that are supported rather than left to crumble into the lawn, and cracks sealed before winter all slow that cycle down. We set slope and drainage on each job and point out low spots where water will collect.

Summer heat and timing

Hot asphalt has to be compacted while it is still workable. Industry guidance notes that ground temperature is the most critical factor in cold-weather paving and that a 3-inch lift holds its heat roughly four times as long as a 1.5-inch lift. In practice, that means we avoid paving on cold ground in late fall and early spring, and in summer we plan around the hottest part of the day so new asphalt is not marked up by traffic before it has cooled.

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Wichita drive approaches and permits

The stretch between the street and your property line is public right-of-way, and Wichita's city code treats the drive approach there separately from the driveway. Under Chapter 10.12 as adopted in 2016, work on drive approaches, curbs and sidewalks in the right-of-way needs a permit from the City Engineer and an inspection, approaches are to be concrete unless the city allows otherwise, and widening or replacing a drive counts as a new approach. The 2016 version of Chapter 10.16 limits an approach to 30 feet wide without written approval. The city may have amended these rules since, so we check the current requirements with the city before any approach work. If your new driveway ends at an existing concrete apron, none of this may apply. If you want the approach widened or moved, we tell you at the estimate what the city process involves before any work is planned.

What a typical driveway job includes

• Measuring the area and checking slope, drainage and the curb apron
• Removing old asphalt or concrete and hauling it away
• Digging out soft subgrade and replacing it with compacted stone
• Grading and compacting the gravel base
• Placing and rolling hot-mix asphalt to the thickness in your quote
• Finishing edges and transitions to the garage slab and approach
• Telling you when to drive on it and when it can be sealed

Wichita is home base, and we work across Sedgwick County and nearby South-Central Kansas communities such as Derby, Haysville, Park City, Bel Aire, Maize, Goddard, Valley Center and Andover. Soil, drainage and the age of existing pavement vary from one neighborhood to the next, and each city has its own rules for work in the public right-of-way. The Wichita drive approach rules described here apply inside Wichita city limits; outside them, we check what the local city or county requires before work that touches the street is scheduled. The individual town pages explain the local details.