Asphalt Paving Contractor in Suisun City, CA

Flat Clay Ground at the Edge of the Suisun Marsh

The NRCS soil survey maps nearly two thirds of Suisun City on Antioch and San Ysidro soils. Both have a loam top layer over dense clay that starts a foot or two down. Water moves through that clay very slowly. The clay also swells when it is wet and shrinks as it dries.

The same survey rates these soils as limited for local roads and streets, because of low strength and shrink-swell. On ground like this, a paved surface is only as good as the base under it. We build the aggregate base in compacted lifts and shape the surface so water sheds off.

Near Old Town and the waterfront on Suisun Slough, the survey maps marsh clays that drain poorly. Around City Hall, it maps made land, which the survey describes as filled marshland. Parts of the city also sit inside FEMA's mapped flood zone. On flat lots like these, grading and drainage work decides where winter rain goes.

What Do Suisun City's Driveway Rules Say?

Suisun City writes its own paving rules for homes. City code caps paved and hardscaped area, driveways included, at 60 percent of the front yard. Side and rear yards in public view carry the same cap.

The same section lists brick and concrete as hardscape and says asphalt, decomposed granite and gravel are not permitted. Paving that was legal when it went in stays grandfathered until the property owner remodels or alters the property. A new front-yard driveway also needs design review from the Planning Division.

On most streets here, the property line sits behind the sidewalk, so a driveway apron is in the public right-of-way. City code bars any cut or encroachment in a public street without a permit, and Public Works issues it. Highway 12 is a state highway, so a driveway that connects to it needs a Caltrans encroachment permit. The Planning Division and Public Works answer how these rules apply to your lot.

Parking Lots Along Highway 12 and Sunset Avenue

In Suisun City, many business lots sit downtown or along Highway 12, like the shopping center at Sunset Avenue. City code spells out how a parking lot should be built. The surface must be a permanent hard surface, such as asphalt or concrete, that holds down mud and dust. The lot must drain to permanent storm drains, with no standing pools of water.

Our commercial paving work starts with the grade, so water reaches the drains instead of the stalls. We pave and resurface lots in sections, so a business can stay open. Code also asks for aisles and drive lanes marked with arrows and lines. Parking lot striping goes down on the new surface, ADA stalls and access aisles included.

The city's storm drains connect straight to the Suisun Marsh. Nothing from a paving or sealing job belongs in the gutter here.

Old Town, the East Side and Older Paving

Old Town keeps the narrow grid streets and historic homes of the city's oldest blocks. Most neighborhoods east of it went in during the 1970s and early 1980s, along broad, curving streets. The city's General Plan describes Suisun City as largely built out.

Census figures show fewer than 2 in 100 homes here were built in 2010 or later. Close to 4 in 10 homes are rented, so many driveways belong to landlords. For an older asphalt driveway, crack sealing comes before the rain, and sealcoating follows the repairs.