Asphalt Paving in Lake Charles, LA

Asphalt paving in Lake Charles has to hold up to a lot of water. The city averages close to 60 inches of rain a year, with June the wettest month, and it sits on a level plain around 13 to 15 feet above sea level, about 30 miles from the Gulf. The Calcasieu River, Lake Charles itself, Prien Lake and a web of bayous run through it. Asphalt here lasts when it rests on a compacted base and sheds water quickly. When water sits on it or soaks under it, ruts and potholes follow within a few seasons.

After Laura and Delta

Hurricane Laura made landfall near Cameron on August 27, 2020 as a Category 4 storm, and a 133 mph gust was recorded at the Lake Charles airport. Delta followed on October 9. Thousands of homes and businesses were rebuilt, and many driveways and lots were damaged by heavy equipment, debris hauling and standing water. Some of that damage is still showing up as cracking and sinking years later. When we look at a driveway that came through those storms, we check the base, not just the surface.

Heavy, wet ground

The coastal prairie around Lake Charles is mostly fine-grained soil that drains slowly and stays soft when wet. A thin layer of gravel over that ground is not enough. We dig out soft spots, replace them with compacted stone, and grade the base so the finished asphalt drains toward the street, the ditch or a swale. Cost guides describe a typical home driveway as 2 to 3 inches of compacted asphalt over 6 to 8 inches of compacted base, more for trucks and trailers. Your quote states both.

Culverts and the city permit

Most of the driveways we pave cross a ditch. In Lake Charles, culvert work starts with a $30 non-refundable city permit. You or your contractor stake the culvert location, and Public Works Engineering inspects it and sets the pipe size, grade, length and catch basin location. Engineering must be called two days before backfilling, a final inspection closes the file, and permitted work has to be finished within 90 days. Owners can apply for a driveway permit up to 25 feet wide. Removing a curb for a driveway also takes a permit and is the owner's job, not the city's.

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Heat and timing

Summer heat keeps new asphalt soft for weeks, and the city's record high is 109 degrees. Freezes are rare but real; the record low is 3. In practice, rain is what moves our schedule: we will not pave on a wet base, and sealcoat needs dry hours to cure.

A typical driveway job

• Visit, measurements and a drainage check
• Permits for culvert or right-of-way work
• Tear-out and haul-off
• Soft soil removed and replaced with compacted stone
• Culvert set to the grade Engineering gives
• Hot-mix asphalt placed and rolled
• Edges finished and care instructions given

We work from Lake Charles across Calcasieu Parish: Sulphur, Westlake, Moss Bluff, Prien, Carlyss, Iowa, Vinton, DeQuincy, Starks, Hayes and Bell City, and into Jefferson Davis Parish (Jennings, Welsh, Lake Arthur), Cameron Parish (Hackberry, Cameron) and Allen Parish (Kinder). Each place has its own conditions: the coastal communities rebuild after storm surge, the prairie towns deal with long rural drives and rice-field drainage, and incorporated cities each set their own rules for work at the road. The town pages explain what matters in each.