Asphalt Paving Contractor in Benicia, CA

How Do Benicia's Hills and Clay Change a Driveway Job?

NRCS maps most land in Benicia's city limits as Dibble-Los Osos clay loams or Altamont clay. The city's General Plan calls these expansive clay formations. NRCS puts soft bedrock about 20 to 38 inches below the surface in these soils. Rain runs off this ground more than it soaks in.

On a sloped drive, that water needs a planned path to a drain or the street. We build the base in compacted lifts and shape the surface so water sheds off. Where a drive cuts into the hill, a retaining wall along the driveway can hold the bank. Drain rock and perforated pipe behind the wall carry water out.

Benicia's exempt-work list lets a retaining wall up to 4 feet tall skip the building permit. The 4 feet run from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall. A wall supporting a surcharge is off that list, and a driveway or slope above it can count as one. The Building Safety Division answers which side of the line your wall falls on.

Older Driveways from Downtown to Southampton

Most of Benicia's older homes and its downtown sit on the gentle slope down to the Carquinez Strait. Census estimates show about 6 percent of the city's homes were built in 1939 or earlier. The General Plan describes those blocks as east-west streets with vertical curbs and planter strips between sidewalk and curb.

In Benicia, a new driveway approach sits in the public right-of-way and needs an encroachment permit. Inside the Downtown and Arsenal historic districts, the city also requires Planning Division review for exterior changes to buildings. Ask the Planning Division whether a new driveway falls under that review.

Southampton, north of I-780, shows what the General Plan calls a typical late 20th century streetscape. Census estimates show about 6 in 10 Benicia homes were built from 1970 to 1989. A driveway that age with a sound base may only need resurfacing over the old asphalt. If the base has failed, replacement starts with tear-out and haul-off of the old driveway.

Parking Lots in the Benicia Industrial Park

The Benicia Industrial Park spreads over the flatter ground beside the Suisun Bay marshes, east of East Second Street. The General Plan expects more heavy truck traffic in its General Industrial areas than in the buffer zones. It also notes that older industrial areas grew from wartime work, on roads built for temporary use.

We set the base and asphalt thickness by the traffic a lot carries. Commercial paving work can run in phases, so part of the lot stays open for business. A worn lot over a sound base may only need an overlay.

Benicia's Building Safety Division lists parking lot striping and restriping as work that needs a permit. Check with the division before you schedule parking lot restriping. We stripe the stalls and ADA access aisles once the new surface is ready.

Wind and Water Along the Carquinez Strait

The Carquinez Strait is the only sea-level gap between San Francisco Bay and the Central Valley. Afternoon winds of 15 to 20 miles per hour are common through the strait, mostly from the west. Wind pulls water out of fresh concrete, and a surface that dries too fast can crack. It also cools fresh hot mix faster, which shortens the time to roll it.

Along parts of the waterfront, the General Plan notes fill placed over soft Bay Mud. It lists settlement on filled bay land among the city's geologic hazards. A dip in pavement there can start below the asphalt, so we look at the base before we quote.