Asphalt Paving in Lehi, UT

Asphalt paving in Lehi has to stand up to two harsh seasons. Lehi sits at about 4,561 feet and averages only about 12.4 inches of precipitation a year, so the sun is strong and the air is dry for much of the year. July afternoons average about 90 degrees. January nights average about 16 degrees, and snowmelt that runs into cracks by day freezes again after dark. Sun dries out the binder that holds asphalt together, and freeze-thaw cycles pry open the cracks that drying creates. Pavement built on a solid base and kept sealed holds up well here. Pavement left unsealed turns gray and brittle within a few summers.

A fast-growing city on old lakebed

Lehi had about 19,000 residents in 2000 and almost 76,000 by the 2020 census, and the 2023 American Community Survey estimate passed 90,000. Much of that growth is new subdivisions, which means many driveways are only a few years old, and a lot of homeowners are now asking about RV pads, driveway extensions and their first sealcoat. Most of the valley floor was once covered by Lake Bonneville, which stood more than 980 feet deep before it overflowed at Red Rock Pass about 17,500 years ago. Its old lake and shore deposits mean the ground can change from sandy and gravelly to fine and silty within a single neighborhood.

Building the base right

On a driveway, the base carries the load and the asphalt is the wearing surface. HomeGuide describes a typical residential build as 6 to 8 inches of compacted gravel base under 2 to 3 inches of compacted asphalt, and more of both for heavy vehicles. Lehi's own minimum for a local public street is 3 inches of asphalt over 6 inches of road base, and its standards say road base may not be saturated by groundwater or ponding water. We take the same approach on private work: remove soft or organic soil, place and compact road base in lifts, and grade it so meltwater drains away instead of sitting under the pavement.

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Sun and sealcoat

In a dry, high-elevation climate, oxidation is the slow killer. Fresh asphalt is black and slightly flexible. A few summers of strong sun turn it gray, and gray asphalt is brittle and full of tiny cracks. Sealcoating replaces that top layer and slows the process. HomeGuide recommends waiting 3 to 6 months after paving before the first coat and sealing in dry weather between 50 and 95 degrees. In Utah County that means spring through early fall, and the dry summers give us a long, reliable window.

Winter, plows and salt

Snowplows scrape the street edge of a driveway, and de-icing salt tracked in from the road works into cracks. Freeze-thaw cycles do the rest. Filling cracks in late summer or fall, before the first hard freeze, keeps water out of the base through winter. Potholes that appear in spring almost always started as a crack that was left open.

Permits at the street

Lehi's design standards require you to notify Public Works and obtain permits before construction in a city right-of-way, give inspectors 48 hours' notice, and follow spacing rules for driveway access. Residential access is not granted onto arterials or major collectors, and residential drive approaches on local streets need at least 50 feet between them, centerline to centerline. On state routes, UDOT requires an encroachment permit to dig in the right-of-way for a driveway. The site visit settles whether any of that applies to your job.

What we pave

• New and replacement driveways
• RV pads, side-yard parking and driveway widening
• HOA private roads and shared drives
• Parking lots for offices, churches, retail and multifamily
• Patches, potholes and utility cuts
• Crack sealing and sealcoating

We are based in Lehi and work across northern Utah County, including American Fork, Saratoga Springs, Eagle Mountain, Highland, Alpine, Cedar Hills, Pleasant Grove, Lindon, Orem, Vineyard, Provo, Springville and Mapleton, plus Fairfield and Cedar Fort in Cedar Valley. Across Point of the Mountain we also work in Draper, Bluffdale, Herriman, Riverton, South Jordan, Sandy and West Jordan. Elevation, ground conditions and city rules for drive approaches vary from one city to the next, and each city page covers what is specific to it.