Parking Lot Paving in Athens, GA

Parking lot paving is a different job from a driveway. A lot carries more traffic, heavier vehicles and turning loads, and it covers enough area that drainage becomes an engineering problem. Around Athens, lots serve shops, offices, churches, apartment complexes and student housing, and many sit on sloped sites with red clay underneath. A lot that is built thin or graded poorly shows it quickly: ruts at the dumpster pad, potholes where delivery trucks turn, and ponds after every storm.

Sections for commercial loads

Lots generally need a thicker asphalt section and a stronger base than driveways, especially in drive lanes, at entrances and where garbage and delivery trucks stop. Many lots use a heavier section in the lanes and a lighter one in parking stalls. Where a project has engineered plans, we build to them. Where it does not, we explain the section we are proposing and why.

Drainage

A parking lot moves a lot of water. It has to slope to inlets, curb openings or the edges without creating ponds in the stalls or sheets of water across walkways. On new lots and rebuilds, we check slopes and inlet heights and correct low areas. Larger new lots and expansions in Athens-Clarke County can trigger land disturbance and stormwater review, so projects with new impervious area should confirm requirements with the county early.

Options for an existing lot

• Repair and seal: for lots that are mostly sound with scattered failures.
• Mill and overlay: the top layer is milled off and replaced, keeping curb heights and drainage intact.
• Full-depth rebuild: for lots where the base has failed over large areas.
• Expansion: new stalls added to an existing lot, tied in so the joint does not open up.

Staying open

Most businesses cannot close their lot for a week. We phase work so entrances stay usable, schedule around business hours or church services where possible, and plan which sections are done on which days.

Maintenance plans

A lot that is crack sealed and sealcoated on a regular cycle lasts much longer than one that is left until it fails. We can set a schedule for inspections, crack sealing, sealcoating and restriping so costs are predictable.

Striping and ADA

A new or resurfaced lot gets restriped, and under the Department of Justice's guidance, restriping a lot triggers the 2010 ADA Standards. A lot with 26 to 50 spaces, for example, needs two accessible spaces, one of them van-accessible. We lay out accessible stalls, aisles and signs to match.