Commercial Paving in West Des Moines, IA

Commercial paving in West Des Moines covers a lot of ground. The city is home to large employers such as Wells Fargo, with about 9,000 employees in the city's 2023 report, and to retail around Jordan Creek Town Center, which opened in 2004. Office parks, apartment complexes, medical buildings, churches and strip centers all have asphalt that takes commuter traffic, delivery trucks and snowplows. HomeAdvisor lists asphalt lots at about $2 to $4.50 per square foot and $400 to $1,130 per space.

Telling repair from reconstruction

• Surface wear, scattered cracks: crack seal, sealcoat, restripe
• Worn surface on a sound base: mill and overlay
• Alligator cracking in drive lanes or at dumpsters: full-depth patch or reconstruct those areas
• Ponding at inlets or curbs: regrade during repair

We map the lot and price each category separately so you can see where the money goes and phase it if needed.

Building for trucks

Commercial pavement is typically specified at a minimum of 4 inches of asphalt, with thicker base where heavy vehicles travel. Delivery routes, dumpster pads and fire lanes take far more load than parking stalls. We design those areas heavier rather than paving the whole lot to one spec.

Keeping customers moving

Work is split into phases so at least one entrance and part of the parking stay open. We can schedule nights or weekends where traffic requires it, and we set up signs and cones so people find their way through.

Right-of-way coordination

Lot work that touches a public sidewalk, curb or approach requires a West Des Moines right-of-way permit, a $200 deposit, 24 hours' notice to Engineering before digging and 48 hours' notice to Public Services for any lane closure, with traffic control following the federal MUTCD. We handle that coordination as part of the project.

After paving

New lots get striping laid out to the 2010 ADA Standards, which apply whenever a lot is restriped. HomeAdvisor recommends sealcoating every two to five years and resurfacing every 15 to 20 years; we can put together a maintenance schedule so budgets are predictable.

Budgeting over several years

Many owners cannot do a whole lot at once. A practical plan is to rebuild the worst drive lanes and dumpster areas first, mill and overlay the rest the following season, then crack seal, sealcoat and restripe on a regular cycle. We write the plan with costs for each year so it can go into an annual budget or an HOA reserve study.

Snow and plowing

Plows catch on raised patches, broken edges and the lip of an old overlay. When we rebuild a lot, we feather joints and set edges flush so plow blades ride over them.