Asphalt Driveways in Cheyenne, WY

Asphalt driveways are the bulk of residential paving in Cheyenne: brand-new drives for new homes, full replacements for driveways that have broken up, and conversions from gravel or failing concrete. A replacement is due when cracks link into a web, the surface has sunk in the wheel paths, the edges have crumbled, or water stands in the same places after each melt. Those are base problems, and new asphalt on a bad base fails the same way.

How we build one

Old pavement comes out first. We probe and dig the subgrade, remove what is soft or saturated, and replace it with compacted road base in lifts. The base is graded so water runs off the driveway and away from the garage. HomeGuide gives a common residential build as 2 to 3 inches of compacted asphalt over 6 to 8 inches of compacted gravel, and 3 to 4 inches over 8 to 10 inches for trucks, campers or trailers. We size it to your heaviest vehicle and put the numbers on the estimate.

Snowmelt and drifts

Cheyenne gets about 60 inches of snow a year, and wind piles it in drifts along fences and driveway edges. When a drift melts on a warm afternoon, the water soaks the ground next to the pavement and freezes again that night. A driveway with supported, compacted edges and a slight crown or cross-slope moves that water away before it can work under the asphalt.

Replacing concrete with asphalt

Some owners with cracked, heaved concrete driveways choose asphalt for the replacement because it costs less and is easier to patch. The concrete is broken out and hauled away, the subgrade is checked, and the base is rebuilt before paving. HomeGuide puts concrete at $6 to $15 per square foot against $5 to $12 or more for asphalt.

Where the driveway meets the street

The approach, curb and sidewalk usually sit in the public right-of-way. If your project only replaces the driveway behind them, nothing changes there. If you want a wider approach, a new curb cut or a second entrance, we check the current city or county requirements for your address before planning it. Angi notes that driveway permits often run $50 to $200 and may be waived where an apron already connects to the street.

The first year

New asphalt stays soft for weeks in summer heat. Avoid turning the steering wheel while parked, keep trailer jacks and kickstands on a plate, and keep heavy trucks off the edges. HomeGuide recommends waiting 3 to 6 months before the first sealcoat so the surface can cure.

Timing

Cheyenne's average freezing window runs from about late September to mid-May. We book driveway paving inside the warm part of that window so hot-mix compacts properly, and we schedule early in the season so new asphalt has a summer to cure before winter.