Asphalt Paving in St. Joseph, MO

Asphalt paving in St. Joseph has to deal with slopes. The city grew up on the bluffs above the Missouri River, founded by fur trader Joseph Robidoux and incorporated in 1843, and many of its streets and driveways climb hills that would be unusual anywhere else in this part of the state. On a steep driveway, rainwater runs fast, edges take more stress, and a weak spot in the base washes out quicker. Good asphalt work here starts with how water will move.

The soil under St. Joseph

The USDA's Knox soil series describes well-drained loess, wind-deposited silt, on strongly dissected hills and bluffs bordering the Missouri River Valley, on slopes from 2 to 35 percent. Loess is very hard when dry, but it loses its cohesion when it is saturated, which is why bluff soils slump and erode. Under a driveway, that means two things: water must not be allowed to run under the edges, and any area where the base has washed out must be dug out and rebuilt with crushed stone, not just patched on top.

Weather and timing

Using 1991-2020 normals for Rosecrans airport, the typical last spring frost is around April 25 and the first fall frost around October 10. January nights average about 17 degrees, and July days average about 88. Asphalt needs warm ground to compact, so most full paving happens from May into September. Sealing needs dry weather between about 50 and 95 degrees.

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What it costs

National guides put new asphalt driveways at about $5 to $12 or more per square foot (HomeGuide) and $7 to $15 (Angi). A 400-square-foot two-car driveway runs about $2,000 to $4,800 in HomeGuide's figures. Parking lots run about $2 to $4.50 per square foot (HomeAdvisor). Steep grades, tear-out and base rebuilding add to the total, which is why we price every job in writing after seeing it.

Older housing, older pavement

St. Joseph's population peaked at 102,979 in the 1900 census and counted 72,473 in 2020, so much of the housing was built long ago. Census figures show 62.8 percent of homes are owner-occupied, with a median value of $154,200. Older homes often have narrow driveways, alley garages and pavement that has been patched for decades. We tell you honestly whether repairs will carry it or whether it is time to start over.

What we do

• New and replacement asphalt driveways
• Gravel-to-asphalt conversions
• Parking lots for businesses, churches and apartments
• Overlays on sound surfaces
• Pothole, edge and washout repair
• Sealcoating and crack sealing
• Parking lot striping

Repair, overlay or replace

Not every worn driveway needs to come out. Scattered cracks and a pothole or two on a firm base are repair work: crack sealing, a hot patch and a sealcoat. A surface that is gray and rough but still flat can often take a new 1.5 to 2 inch overlay. When cracks link into a web, the driveway sinks or rocks under a car, or the downhill edge has broken away, the base underneath has failed, and an overlay would only copy those cracks into new asphalt. We tell you which of these you are looking at and put the reasons in writing.

Both sides of the river

We work on the Missouri side and the Kansas side. Bluff-top lots in St. Joseph, Weston and Atchison deal with runoff and washouts; bottomland in Elwood, Wathena and Agency deals with water that sits. Upland towns such as Savannah, Cameron and Maryville sit on well-drained loess but still freeze hard. The fix differs with the ground, and so does the quote.

St. Joseph is home base. We also work in Savannah and Country Club to the north, Agency, Gower, Stewartsville and Cameron to the east, Dearborn, Platte City and Weston to the south, Plattsburg in Clinton County, Maryville and Mound City up I-29 and US 71, and across the Missouri River in Elwood, Wathena and Atchison, Kansas. River-bottom towns, bluff towns and upland farm towns each have different ground under their driveways; the town pages explain what we see in each.