Asphalt Paving in New Albany, IN

Asphalt driveways on New Albany's older lots and the knobs

About 37,800 people lived in New Albany at the 2020 Census. The city has about 18,300 homes, and about six in ten are detached houses. About 70 percent of the city's homes were built before 1980. Along the river, the city keeps 3.5 miles of floodwall and levee, with six pumping plants.

The soil survey maps most of the city as urban land, built over or reworked by cut and fill. Under the flats around State Street, that ground sits on clay. Near Grant Line Road, it sits on a dense subsoil layer that slows water down. The survey rates the natural soils here high for frost action.

So the base under the asphalt does most of the work. We grade each drive to shed rain, then set a compacted stone base before the hot-mix asphalt goes down.

West of downtown, the knobs rise fast, and Silver Hills sits up top, about 170 feet above downtown. The NOAA station in nearby Jeffersonville logs about 51 inches of rain and melted snow a year. On a steep drive, that water runs the full length of the asphalt. The grade and the edges matter there as much as the mix.

Do you need approval to pave in a New Albany historic district?

Often, yes. The city's Historic Preservation Commission oversees four historic districts: Downtown, Mansion Row, East Spring Street and Cedar Bough Place. Its list of exterior changes that need a Certificate of Appropriateness includes paving. Its advice is plain: ask before exterior work starts.

The commission's 2025 design guidelines place driveways and parking behind the building, with alley access preferred. Existing drives are to be repaired in kind, with the same materials and layout. The property owner applies for the certificate. Once the commission approves a plan, we quote and pave to that plan.

Church and business parking lots in New Albany

New Albany's zoning code sets rules for parking lots when a building goes up or is substantially altered. Public parking areas must be paved with a hard, dust-proof surface. The same section calls for a stormwater system and curb and gutter around the lot. The stormwater design and the concrete curbs belong to other trades.

We grade the lot so water reaches its drains, then pave it in hot-mix asphalt. Pavement markings must follow the Indiana Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices, and we stripe the lots we pave. If your doors need to stay open, tell us at the estimate. We can plan the paving in sections around your hours.

A worn lot with a sound base may only need a new top layer. Where new asphalt would bury a curb line or a door sill, asphalt milling grinds the old surface down first. Once new asphalt has cured, sealcoating adds a protective coat to the surface.

Who answers permit questions in New Albany?

Inside the city limits, the City of New Albany Building Department runs an online permit portal. Planning and Zoning handles the Improvement Location Permit and site plans. For a new curb cut, ask the Street Department, which has a right-of-way coordinator on staff.

Where a drive ties into a state highway, INDOT issues the driveway permit through its district office. A new lot that disturbs an acre or more of ground also needs coverage under the state's construction stormwater permit. Near the river or a creek, look the address up on FEMA's flood map or the Indiana DNR floodplain portal.

Before any digging or grading, Indiana law calls for notice to Indiana 811 at least two full working days ahead. A locate ticket is good for 20 days.