Madison County is two kinds of country in one. Richmond, home of Eastern Kentucky University, sits on gentler, rolling ground. Berea, to the south, sits in the Knobs, where the land rises into steep, cone-shaped hills. The two ask different things of a driveway, and the county, Richmond and Berea each have their own rules at the road.
Richmond and its subdivisions, Berea, Waco, Kirksville, Kingston and the homes along the I-75 corridor. Census counts put the county at about 53,000 people in 1980 and close to 93,000 by 2020, so there is a wide spread of driveway ages here, from older town streets to subdivisions only a few years old.
The Kentucky Geological Survey describes the Knobs as hundreds of isolated, steep, often cone-shaped hills made mostly of shale, and names Berea as one of the places that sits in them. Shale country is not limestone country. The ground sheds water off its slopes quickly, so drives are often steep, and runoff that rushes down a sloped drive scours its low end, its edges and every joint it crosses.
On a steep drive the priorities change. Edges have to be kept supported and cracks closed so fast-moving water cannot undercut the asphalt, and the bottom of the drive, where the water collects, is checked first for soft or broken spots. Sealer on a slope is applied so it stays where it is put while it sets. Around Richmond, the ground is gentler and the questions are more about drainage on flatter lots, where water tends to sit in a drive's dips rather than rush off it.
Sealing, crack filling and patching on your own property need none of these permits. Entrance work at the road is booked only with a paving contractor who holds what the city or county requires, and fees are confirmed and written on your quote.
A county that has nearly doubled since 1980 has a lot of drives that are still fairly young. For those, the cheapest plan is also the simplest: let new asphalt cure for six to twelve months, give it a first coat, and after that fill cracks and reseal every few years as the surface greys, rather than every year. Drives that have gone ten or fifteen years without a coat usually still have a sound base, but the surface has dried out and opened small cracks at the garage joint and along the edges. Those cracks are filled first and the whole drive sealed, which is the point at which a coat does the most good for the least money.
Both towns run partly on an academic calendar. Berea College, founded in 1855 as the first interracial and coeducational college in the South, has charged no tuition since 1892, and Eastern Kentucky University anchors Richmond. For rental properties, churches and businesses near either campus, move-in and graduation weekends are the worst days to have a lot closed, so those dates are settled first. See HOAs and property managers for how larger properties are phased.
Yes. This page is about Richmond in Madison County, Kentucky.
Yes. Steep drives are sealed in dry, settled weather, and the low end and edges are checked and repaired first, since that is where the water does its damage.
No. The city's encroachment permit is for work in the right-of-way, such as a new curb cut or a rebuilt apron. Sealing on your property is not that.
No. Send the address.
Next door: Fayette County to the northwest and Jessamine County to the west.
