Asphalt Paving in Bossier City, LA

Asphalt paving in Bossier City has three things working against it: soft clay ground, a lot of rain, and long hot summers. Climate normals for the Shreveport airport, just across the Red River, show 51.41 inches of precipitation spread over about 101 days a year, with June the wettest month. July afternoons average 93.4 degrees, and the area sees roughly 91 days above 90 degrees in a year. Yet winter still brings freezes and the occasional ice storm. A driveway or lot that is going to last here needs a firm base, a surface that sheds water, and enough asphalt thickness to hold up when it softens in August.

The ground under Bossier City

Bossier City sits on the east bank of the Red River at about 164 feet above sea level, and most of the city is flat. Flat ground drains slowly, and the city relies on the Flat River and Red Chute Bayou to carry storm water away; heavy storms have flooded parts of the area, including March 2016, when flooding displaced more than 3,500 people. The soil adds to the problem. The USDA's Bossier soil series, named for this parish, is a very fine, smectitic clay formed in Red River sediments that is poorly drained and very slowly permeable. Not every yard sits on that soil, but clay that swells when wet and shrinks when dry is common in the river lowlands, and it is the main reason driveways here crack, rut and sink.

How we build on it

For a residential driveway, published cost guides describe 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 trucks and 4 inches or more for commercial lots. On clay, the base is where the money is best spent. We dig out soft, wet subgrade we find, replace it with crushed stone, compact it in lifts, and shape the surface so water runs to the street, ditch or yard instead of soaking in along an edge.

Drainage is part of the job

Many properties in and around Bossier City drain to a roadside ditch, and many driveways cross that ditch on a culvert pipe. A crushed or silted culvert backs water up under the driveway. We check culverts, low spots and the direction of fall at every estimate, and we tell you if a drainage fix needs to come before paving.

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Heat, cure time and sealing

New asphalt stays soft through its first hot season. Keep heavy vehicles off it for the first days, avoid turning the steering wheel while parked, and put a board under trailer jacks and motorcycle stands. Sealcoating should wait until the asphalt cures, which HomeGuide puts at 3 to 6 months, and it goes on in dry weather between about 50 and 95 degrees, which in this climate usually means spring or fall mornings.

Driveways on state highways

A lot of homes and businesses between Bossier City, Haughton, Benton and Plain Dealing front a state or U.S. highway, such as US 80, US 71 or LA 3. Where a driveway connects to a state highway, Louisiana DOTD handles the access connection permit, which covers the driveway width, the culvert under it and the material used inside the right-of-way. The property owner applies, and DOTD asks for notice before work begins. We tell you at the estimate whether your project involves a DOTD connection, and on city and parish streets we confirm the local rules before scheduling.

What a typical job includes

• Measuring and checking slope, culverts and low spots
• Removing old asphalt, concrete or gravel and hauling it off
• Digging out soft clay and replacing it with compacted stone
• Placing and rolling hot-mix asphalt to the thickness in your quote
• Tapering edges at the garage slab, sidewalk and street
• Care instructions and timing for sealcoating

Bossier City is home base. We also work in Shreveport across the river and in the towns around it: Benton, Haughton, Plain Dealing, Red Chute and Eastwood in Bossier Parish; Greenwood, Blanchard, Keithville, Vivian, Mooringsport, Oil City and Hosston in Caddo Parish; Minden, Dixie Inn, Doyline, Sibley and Cotton Valley in Webster Parish; and Stonewall and Mansfield in DeSoto Parish. Soil, drainage and road access differ a lot across that map, from Red River bottomland to the piney hills north of Benton, and from city streets to rural state highways. Each town page covers what matters there.