What 5 Qualifications You Should Look for in a Road Construction Contractor

Road construction projects are complex processes that typically demand large amounts of money, time and resources. It’s crucial to select the best possible team for the job to make sure that time and money are being used as efficiently as possible, and that the end result will be high quality and long-lasting.

When it comes to selecting a road construction contractor, there are several key characteristics that separate the great companies from the rest. Here is a quick checklist to help guide your RFP development and prequalification process.

Cost and Benefits Analysis: Asphalt Refinishing vs. Replacement

Asphalt roads and parking lots that are properly constructed and maintained should last 20 to 30 years. However, even in optimal conditions, an asphalt surface may begin to show wear and tear prior to the 15-year mark. Sealing can help, and should be done every 3 to 4 years as part of standard maintenance, but serious cracking or standing water may require more extensive repairs. The solution may be resurfacing the asphalt (also referred to as refinishing or applying an overlay), as long as the lot has not sustained structural damage.

How Accurate and Reliable is an Online Asphalt Calculator?

In the earliest stages of considering a project – especially a large project like an asphalt installation or refinishing - many people want to get a “gut check” as to what the budget will need to be to get the job done. There are many basic asphalt calculators available online. Are these are good place to start? Well, maybe.

How to Use an Asphalt Calculator

Basic Construction provides an online asphalt calculator to help customers get an initial grasp on their paving project. Our calculator takes into account the area and depth of the paving project, and calculates the necessary asphalt tonnage based on an industry standard of 148 pounds per cubic foot.

Unless your paving project is a single, perfect square or rectangle, it can be challenging to produce a reasonable estimate of the area. Dividing the pavement area into simple geometric shapes and adding and subtracting these areas to the area to be paved can be a useful method for assessing area. The National Asphalt Pavement Association offers a useful resource for calculating the area of different geometric shapes on their website with a resource titled, “How to Determine Quantities.”

Here’s Why You Need An Asphalt Expert on Your Project Team

Asphalt installation experts are key members of a construction team. Their role relies on experience and skills that are necessary to ensure a high quality and lasting asphalt installation, and cannot easily be replicated by general contractors or builders. Four of the skills that asphalt experts bring to the table are:

How to Assemble the Best Heavy Construction Team for Your Next Project

Heavy construction projects such as highways, parking areas, airports, tunnels and bridges are intricate and complex. A crucial component of ensuring a successful outcome – with minimal waste, cost excess or delays – is selecting the best specialty partner for the job. The consideration process includes qualifications, licensure, insurance coverage, and experience in the field. While cost is always a consideration as well, it cannot be the only consideration if the end goal is a quality heavy construction project completed within the project timeline and specifications. 

An ESOP Construction Company: An Owner on Every Project

The idea of offering employees ownership in the company for which they are employed began in the mid-1800’s, before the advent of social security. At that time, most workers lost their income entirely once they became too old to continue working. Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) were a solution that set aside stock as an incentive for employees to work hard and dedicate themselves to their jobs over the long term. This structure is ideal for a construction company like Basic Construction, as our business relies heavily on the relationships between our employees and our clients.

In addition to benefiting employees in their retirement, ESOPs have become a valuable competitive advantage. An unfamiliar business structure in today’s economy, just over 11,000 companies in the U.S. are structured as ESOPs. However, for customers and clients of these businesses, the impact is often quite clear.

Not All Grading Contractors Are Alike

Whether you are trying to develop a sprawling commerce park or you’re clearing thousands of acres for a new highway project, land grading is important for protecting areas from erosion and the buildup of runoff water. Grading contractors are responsible for ensuring that a construction site is built on stable ground today and that it maintains this composition for years to come. This long-term stability requires a complex understanding of the local soil, how it erodes, its drainage qualities and overall stability. The best grading contractors have deep knowledge of the local soil’s composition and nuances, and have developed best practices for site grading within that context.

There are many questions about how to lay asphalt, with one of the most prominent ones being: can laying asphalt be easy? Our goal at Basic Construction is to take the struggle out of your asphalt projects, creating a seamless and stress free process for you.  Can it be as simple as one, two, three? We say so!

Traditional gravel can come with many negatives, depending on your project. But the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t, right? Wrong!  Why should you consider asphalt millings over traditional gravel? We have four easy reasons on why you should be considering this versatile material. 

You want your asphalt parking lot or driveway to last decades. How do you ensure that it lasts as long as it can? Proper maintenance can extend the life of your paving project - but asphalt maintenance isn’t as tricky as it sounds. Asphalt is affected regularly by weather, heavy loads, oil and many other normal substances it may come in contact with. 

Clean your asphalt.

Remember when your mother said keeping things clean helped them last longer? Well, she was right  - in the case of asphalt at least.  Keep it clear of excess water, and yard clippings.