Asphalt Driveway Paving in Wichita, KS

Asphalt driveway paving is mostly groundwork. The black surface you see is a few inches thick; under it sits a compacted gravel base and, below that, native soil. When a Wichita driveway breaks up into alligator cracks, sinks near the garage or crumbles along the lawn, the cause is usually a weak base, wet subgrade or water that has nowhere to go. A new driveway fixes those causes first.

Signs your driveway needs replacing

• Cracks that connect into a pattern like alligator skin
• Potholes that return after patching
• Sunken areas where water stands after rain
• Edges breaking off into the yard
• More patch than original surface

A few isolated cracks can be sealed and a small failed area can be patched. When the problems cover much of the driveway, replacement usually costs less over time than repeated repairs.

Working with clay soil

Clay-rich soils are common across Sedgwick County. USDA soil maps for parts of the county show silty clays rated in the slowest-draining hydrologic group, so water lingers in the ground after storms. Wet clay is soft, and it moves as it swells and dries. We remove soft subgrade we find, replace it with compacted crushed stone, and grade the base so the finished surface sheds water toward the yard or the street rather than toward the garage.

Thickness and materials

Cost guides describe a typical residential build as 2 to 3 inches of compacted asphalt over 6 to 8 inches of compacted gravel, with more of each for driveways that carry heavy trucks or trailers. Your quote states the base depth and the asphalt thickness so you can compare bids on the same terms. Asphalt is placed hot, spread with a paver where access allows, and compacted with a roller while it is still workable.

The garage slab and the curb apron

Two transitions decide how a driveway looks and drains: the joint at the garage slab and the joint at the street. At the garage we taper the asphalt so it meets the slab cleanly without a lip. At the street, many Wichita homes have a concrete drive approach in the public right-of-way. The city code as adopted in 2016 requires a permit from the City Engineer for drive approach work, generally calls for approaches to be concrete, and treats widening or replacing a drive as a new approach. Rules can change, so if your project reaches that area, we check the current requirements with the city and explain the process at the estimate before anything is planned.

Seasons and scheduling

Wichita's average freeze window runs from late October to early April. Paving on cold ground makes it hard to compact the mix before it stiffens, so new driveways are best placed from late spring into fall. In July and August we plan around afternoon heat, and we ask you to keep cars off the new surface until it has cooled and set.

Caring for a new driveway

New asphalt stays somewhat soft for its first season, especially in a Kansas summer. Avoid turning the steering wheel while parked, vary where you park, and put a board under motorcycle kickstands or trailer jacks. Sealcoating should wait until the asphalt has cured, usually several months. After that, sealing every few years and filling cracks before winter protect the investment.