Asphalt Paving
Hot mix asphalt paving from the ground up for homes, businesses, churches and towns: the site graded for drainage, the base put down and compacted, then hot mix laid and rolled while it is hot.
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Foley sits on flat, sandy ground in south Baldwin County, and it has grown fast. The city counted about 7,500 people in 2008, and Census estimates put it near 28,000 in 2024. New subdivisions keep going in, and the retail strip on South McKenzie Street runs on parking lots. Under all of it the ground swings from well drained sand to pockets where the water table sits at the surface.
3M Paving and Excavation is based in Grove Hill, and our second yard in Robertsdale is a short drive up AL-59. We lay hot mix asphalt in Foley for homes, businesses, churches and schools. That means new asphalt driveways, parking lot paving, resurfacing, patching, sealcoating and striping. Call or text (251) 589-9970 and we will come look at the job and write you a quote.
Tell us about the driveway, lot or road. We come out, look at the job and give you a written quote.
Foley is coastal flatwoods country, and it is flat. Soil maps around town show Norfolk soils on the better ground, well drained and solid to build on. Right beside them sit Lakeland and Wadley sands, loose and deep, which will not hold a crown or a clean edge. Then come Bayboro, Dorovan and Hyde soils, rated very poorly drained, with the water table at or near the surface.
Flat ground with a high water table means water does not leave on its own. Asphalt fails from the bottom up when the base stays wet. Foley fights that citywide: a new regional stormwater basin will drain 480 acres around Beulah Heights. That is why grading and drainage work comes first: cut and fill, a crown that sheds water, a culvert at the ditch.
The Asphalt Institute puts the target at about 2 percent of slope, or a quarter inch of fall per foot. On flat Foley lots that quarter inch per foot is most of the job. Miss it and water stands, the base softens, and the pavement starts alligator cracking early.
Most new houses here go into subdivisions like Greystone Village, Meadow Run Estates or GlenLakes. Those drives are short. The work is about a built base, a clean edge and a flush tie-in at the garage. Water has to run to the street, not back toward the house.
Out toward Miflin, Swift and Bon Secour the drives get long, some running a few hundred feet through sand and pine. A long drive needs a real base under the asphalt. The Asphalt Institute calls for 6 to 8 inches of compacted crushed aggregate under a residential driveway. In this sand that base matters more, not less.
The same guidance puts a full depth asphalt driveway near 4 inches of compacted hot mix. Over an aggregate base it is closer to 3 inches. Your site decides which one fits. The quote spells out the thickness, the base work and the square footage for your drive.
That depends on who owns the road. Inside the Foley city limits, the city tells a homeowner to ask its engineering department for the driveway permit first. Engineering sets the pipe size and the elevation, and there is a permit fee. Permit in hand, the homeowner then brings in a contractor to build the drive to those requirements.
Outside the city limits the road is usually a Baldwin County road, and the county highway department runs its own driveway permit. If the drive ties into a state route like AL-59, US-98 or the Foley Beach Express, ALDOT driveway rules apply instead.
ALDOT sets a 15 inch minimum side drain pipe and lets its regions require 18 inch. Its permit manual also treats paving an unpaved drive, or resurfacing one, the same as a brand new entrance. We build to whatever the road owner calls for, so ask before the work starts.
Foley runs on visitors. Arts, entertainment and food service is the largest employment sector in the city, and the outlet shopping off AL-59 is a big reason why. That means restaurants, shops, hotels, offices and churches, and every one of them has a lot to keep up. Some are still gravel: the city has paving and drainage design moving for the gravel lots at its sports tourism complex.
A lot takes truck weight at the dumpster pad and the delivery door, and car weight everywhere else. Those areas get built differently. We plan the work in phases with you, so a store, a church or a school can keep running while the lot gets done.
Once the asphalt is down, striping a parking lot comes next. That is stalls, arrows, stop bars, fire lanes and accessible spaces laid out to the 2010 ADA Standards. After that it is crack filling and sealcoating on a schedule. That upkeep is what keeps a lot from needing a full rebuild.
Communities and areas we serve around Foley: Downtown Foley, South McKenzie Street (AL-59), Laurel Avenue (US-98), Foley Beach Express, County Road 12, Beulah Heights, Greystone Village, Meadow Run Estates, GlenLakes, Miflin, Swift, Bon Secour.
Foley ZIP codes served: 36535, 36536.
Hot mix asphalt paving from the ground up for homes, businesses, churches and towns: the site graded for drainage, the base put down and compacted, then hot mix laid and rolled while it is hot.
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New asphalt driveways, gravel drives paved over and worn out drives replaced. We grade for drainage, build the base, then lay hot mix asphalt and roll it hot.
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New parking lots, replacements and resurfacing for businesses, churches, schools and clinics. Graded to drain, based and compacted, then paved in hot mix asphalt.
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We build and rebuild private roads, subdivision streets and shared driveways in hot mix asphalt. The road gets graded, crowned and based first, so water leaves it instead of sitting in ruts.
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Sealcoating for asphalt driveways and parking lots across south Alabama. The pavement is cleaned, the cracks are filled, and the sealer goes on while the weather holds.
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We patch potholes and failed areas on driveways, parking lots and private roads. Hot-pour crack filling keeps water out of the base before it opens a hole.
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Asphalt resurfacing lays a new layer of hot mix over pavement that is still sound underneath. We level the low spots and rebuild the failed areas before the new layer goes on.
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We stripe new parking lots and restripe faded ones for businesses, churches, schools and apartments. Stalls, arrows, fire lanes and accessible spaces go down in traffic paint on a clean surface.
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Asphalt millings make a firm driving surface for driveways, lots, pads and farm roads. We deliver millings by the load, then spread, grade and roll them down tight.
Learn MoreA few of the questions we hear most around Foley. If yours is not here, call and ask.
Tell us about the driveway, lot or road, and where it is. Call or text (251) 589-9970 or send the form, and we will set a time to come look at it.
Tell us about the driveway, lot or road. We come out, look at the job and give you a written quote.