Drive Apron & Approach Work in Kettering, OH

Drive apron and approach work covers the section of driveway between the sidewalk and the street, plus the joint where your driveway meets it. In Kettering that strip is public right-of-way, but the City makes property owners responsible for maintaining the sidewalk, curb and drive approach next to their property. Most aprons here are concrete, while the driveways behind them are asphalt. Getting the two to meet cleanly, and knowing the rules when the apron itself needs work, is part of nearly every Kettering driveway job.

The City's repair program

Kettering's Engineering Department runs a curb, sidewalk and drive approach repair program. Each section of the city is inspected on a cycle of roughly 20 to 25 years, and squares that need replacing are marked with white paint. When your section comes up, you can hire your own contractor or let the City's contractor do the work, paid in cash or through a property tax assessment with interest and a county fee.

If you hire your own contractor

The City requires a right-of-way construction permit for any work in the public right-of-way, including driveway installations, sidewalks, curbs and gutters. The contractor obtains it before work starts, provides insurance naming the City and a bond, finishes within 30 days of the permit, and the work gets a final City inspection. Kettering's Engineering Department can confirm whether a contractor's bond and insurance are on file.

What we do

On every driveway job we look at the apron and tell you whether it is sound, whether it has been marked, and how it affects your project. When the apron is staying, we cut a clean edge on the asphalt side and tie the new driveway into it flush, so water does not collect at the joint and snow shovels do not catch. When the apron needs replacing, we explain the City process before anything is scheduled so you can decide how to handle it.

The joint matters

The seam between an asphalt driveway and a concrete apron opens up as the two materials expand and contract differently through the seasons. Meltwater gets in, freezes and breaks the asphalt edge. Sealing that joint every fall is one of the cheapest repairs you can make.

Elsewhere in the area

Other cities have their own rules. Centerville, for example, says work in an easement or the right-of-way, such as driveway apron replacement and sidewalk repair, needs a right-of-way permit. We check the local requirements wherever we work.

Paying through an assessment

If you let the City's contractor replace a marked apron or sidewalk, Kettering lets owners pay in cash or through a property tax assessment that adds interest and a county fee. That can spread out the cost, but it usually costs more in total than paying up front.