Driveway and Lot Sealcoating in West Fargo
West Fargo is one of North Dakota's fastest-growing cities. The census counted 25,830 residents in 2010 and 38,626 in 2020, and ACS 2019-2023 estimates put the median housing unit's construction year at 2004, with about 61 percent of units built in 2000 or later. That makes the typical asphalt drive here young: on its first or second coat, still fairly flexible, and still settling onto a base laid over the valley's clay. The right moment for a young drive's first coat, usually about a year after paving, is covered on driveway sealcoating.
The older layer of the city is smaller but real. West Fargo began as Sheyenne Crossing, a Northern Pacific whistle stop, grew up around a meatpacking plant that closed in 1960, incorporated as a city in 1967 and merged with Riverside in 1989. About a fifth of its housing units date from the 1970s and 1980s. Asphalt from those decades has outlived the 15 to 30 year life HomeGuide gives a maintained driveway, so a drive from that era is likely a replacement or an overlay by now, and it usually needs more crack repair before any coat.
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Sheyenne water and West Fargo's driveway rules
River flooding here is handled by a structure built for it. The Sheyenne Diversion, constructed between spring 1990 and fall 1992 with Army Corps of Engineers funding, routes the Sheyenne River around the city through a 6.8-mile channel with 12.7 miles of levees and two pumping stations, and the city reports that it held through the record floods of 1997 and 2009. What it does not do is drain a driveway. On flat subdivision lots, snowmelt and summer storms still gather at the low edge of a drive and around retention ponds, and that local water is what softens a base and lifts an edge in winter.
The city code is specific about driveways. Section 2-0103 says no one may construct, reconstruct or repair a driveway in the city without first obtaining a license from the City Auditor, and Section 2-0119 sets residential driveways at 6 inches thick and at least 9 feet wide at the sidewalk line. Snow may not be deposited on city streets, and the city's snow page gives property owners 48 hours after a storm to clear sidewalks. North Dakota has no coal-tar sealer ban, so owners and contractors pick the product themselves, and an asphalt-emulsion coat is always available.
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Asphalt Sealcoating Services Available in West Fargo
Every job on this site can be requested in West Fargo:
See the full pricing guide for typical ranges.
West Fargo FAQs
Does a crew need a city license to work on a West Fargo driveway?
For building, rebuilding or repairing one, the code says yes. Section 2-0103 requires a license from the City Auditor before anyone constructs, reconstructs or repairs a sidewalk or driveway in the city, and Section 2-0104 runs license years from April 1 through March 31. Whether a particular sealcoating job counts as repair is a question for the Auditor's office, but asking a contractor whether it holds the city license shows quickly how familiar it is with local rules.
Why do some newer West Fargo drives crack within a few years?
Mostly because the ground under them is still moving. A drive in a newer subdivision sits over clay that swells when wet, shrinks when dry and freezes deep every winter, and the first few winters find any soft spots in the base. Cold also opens transverse cracks in well-built asphalt. Filling those cracks early, before meltwater reaches the base, keeps a young drive from aging fast, and a first seal coat about a year after paving adds a second layer of protection.
Does the Sheyenne Diversion keep West Fargo driveways from flooding?
It keeps Sheyenne River flood water out of the city, which is what it was built for, and the city credits it with holding through 1997 and 2009. It does nothing about water that falls on a lot or melts off one. On flat ground, a drive with no crown, a downspout aimed at its edge or a snow pile along one side still holds water that freezes and thaws against the asphalt. Those are yard drainage problems, fixed at the lot itself.
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