Asphalt Paving in Laporte, CO

Asphalt paving in Laporte is mostly rural work. Laporte is an unincorporated community and census-designated place on the Cache la Poudre River, northwest of Fort Collins near where the river leaves the foothills, with 2,409 residents in 2020. Many properties have long drives onto county roads, and because the area is unincorporated, Larimer County, not a city, sets the access rules.

County access permits

Larimer County requires an access permit for driveways onto numbered county roads, county-maintained subdivision roads and improvement district roads, and for a change in use of an existing access, such as a field access becoming a home driveway. The fee for a residential access serving one or two homes is $50, review takes ten business days after a complete application, and culverts must be at least 15 inches across and twice the access width in length. Roads that are not county-maintained do not need the permit, and the county has an online locator to check ownership.

Historic ground

Trappers reportedly built cabins along the river here as early as 1828, and Antoine Janis settled in 1844. A town company organized in 1860 as Colona was renamed Laporte in 1862, French for the door. The territorial legislature made it the county seat in November 1861, and in 1862 it was headquarters of the Overland Trail stage route's Mountain Division.

Drive choices

Long country drives are often cheapest with compacted recycled asphalt over a graded base. Near the house, or where a smooth finish matters, hot-mix asphalt is the better choice. Many owners combine the two. Either way, drainage is the first thing to solve: water running down a drive will undercut any surface.

Costs

Angi lists recycled asphalt millings at about $3 to $8 per square foot installed and new hot-mix asphalt at $90 to $190 per ton, compared with $10 to $20 per ton for millings. HomeGuide lists hot-mix driveways at $5 to $12 or more per square foot. For a long Laporte drive, those differences add up fast.

Foothill drainage

Near where the Poudre leaves the foothills, driveways often climb or cross slopes. Water running down a drive cuts into edges and undermines the base. We crown or cross-slope the surface, add ditches or culverts where needed and shape the edges so runoff leaves the pavement.

US 287

US 287 runs along Laporte's northern edge, 6 miles southeast to Fort Collins and 58 miles northwest to Laramie. Accesses onto a state highway follow CDOT rules rather than county rules. Call (970) 717-1592 or

Get a Free Estimate

.