The North Valley
Los Ranchos de Albuquerque is a village in Albuquerque's North Valley, around Rio Grande Boulevard and Fourth Street, with larger lots, acequias, old cottonwoods and a mix of historic and newer homes. Many properties have long driveways, circle drives and parking courts — and plenty of them are older asphalt that's cracked, faded or broken up by roots.
Valley soil and big trees
Closer to the river the soil carries more silt and clay, holds water longer, and can move as it wets and dries. Mature cottonwoods send roots a long way, and those roots lift and crack asphalt from underneath. On a replacement, we remove the roots in the driveway footprint, replace soft soil with compacted base, and slope the surface so water doesn't sit. We'll also flag any big tree close enough to the edge to cause future trouble.
Common projects
- Replacing old driveways that have alligator cracking, sunken areas or root damage.
- Overlays on drives with a sound base and a worn surface.
- Circle drives and parking courts with clean edges against landscaping and walls.
- Sealcoating and crack sealing to protect asphalt that's still in good shape.
- Long gravel drives converted to asphalt or chip seal.
Village requirements
The Village has its own rules for work affecting village roads, acequias and easements. We'll check what applies to your project at the quote.
What we do in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque
- New asphalt driveways and dirt or gravel conversions
- RV pads and side-yard parking
- Overlays and resurfacing for worn asphalt
- Sealcoating and crack sealing
- Pothole and asphalt repair
- Private and HOA roads, chip seal and millings
- Parking lots and commercial paving
Common questions
Will tree roots damage a new driveway?
Roots in the driveway footprint are removed during excavation, and a compacted base helps. Very large trees right at the edge can still cause problems — we'll point them out.
Can my old driveway be overlaid?
If the base is sound and the damage is mostly on the surface, yes. Widespread alligator cracking, sinking or root heaving needs replacement in those areas.
Do you work near acequias?
We keep pavement off ditch banks and easements and plan drainage away from them.