Services · Colorado Springs, CO
Asphalt Milling.
Asphalt milling in Colorado Springs grinds off failed pavement to a controlled depth so new asphalt has a solid surface to bond to. We run a CAT milling machine, cut to spec, haul the millings out, and leave you a clean base — not a patched-over problem.
- 5-Star Rated
- Registered as a Colorado LLC and Insured
- Owner On Every Job
- 1-Year Warranty
The problem it solves
Why you mill instead of paving over
Overlaying bad asphalt buys you a season. The cracks underneath telegraph straight through the new surface, the lot gains two inches of height it was never designed for, and now your drainage runs the wrong way and your door thresholds don’t clear.
Milling removes the failed layer first. Grades stay where the engineer put them, curb reveal stays correct, water still runs to the inlets, and the new asphalt bonds to sound material instead of floating on top of a broken one. It’s the difference between a repair that lasts a decade and one that looks great until March.
The material we grind off isn’t waste, either — it’s reclaimed asphalt pavement, and it goes back into new mix. The Asphalt Recycling & Reclaiming Association sets the cold planing standards our work follows.
Cut depth
How deep we go
Depth is a diagnosis, not a preference. We core or probe first, then cut only what has failed.
Surface correction
Raveling, bleeding, and minor rutting. Cleans up the wearing course and restores texture before a thin overlay.
Mill and overlay
The standard for tired commercial lots. Removes the full wearing course so the new mat sits flush with existing curb and gutter.
Structural removal
Alligator cracking and deep rutting where the binder course is compromised. Cut until we reach sound material.
Down to base
When the pavement is done. Everything comes out and we rebuild the section — see asphalt paving.
Local conditions
What Colorado does to pavement
Colorado Springs sits at 6,035 feet and runs more than 40 freeze-thaw cycles a year. Water gets into a crack, freezes overnight, expands, and widens it. Repeat that forty times a winter and a hairline becomes a pothole. Add UV that hits 20–30% harder than at sea level and oxidizes the binder from the top down, and asphalt here fails faster than the same mix would in Kansas.
That’s why milling matters more locally than it does in a mild climate. Once freeze-thaw has broken up the wearing course, no amount of surface treatment fixes it — the damage is structural. Cutting it out is the only honest repair.
Milling is also the front end of most rehabilitation strategies. The Federal Highway Administration’s recycling program documents the same approach on highway work that we run on parking lots.
Scope
What we mill
- Commercial and retail parking lots
- HOA and apartment complex drives
- Private roads and access lanes
- Residential driveways
- Trench and utility cut restoration
- Butt joints at curb, gutter, and gutter pan
- Transitions at door thresholds and dock aprons
- Bump and high-spot correction for ADA grade compliance
How it runs
The job, start to finish
Walk it
Oldan walks the property, checks depth and drainage, marks utilities and structures, and prices it in front of you. No subcontracted estimator.
Set the cut
Grade and slope are set off the existing surface or an independent grade line so the finished elevation lands where it needs to.
Mill and load
The CAT machine grinds and belts material straight into trucks. Millings are hauled off and recycled — no stockpile left on your lot.
Sweep and tack
Surface is broomed clean and tacked. Loose fines under a new mat are the most common reason an overlay lets go early.
Pave
New hot mix goes down and gets compacted while the tack is live. Same crew, same day where the schedule allows.
Stripe and hand off
Layout goes back down to code, ADA stalls included, and you get the lot back.
Why Clear Choice
Owner-operated since 2017
Milling equipment is expensive, so a lot of Colorado Springs contractors sell you the job and sub the cutting to someone you never meet. When the depth comes out wrong, nobody owns it.
We’ve been in the pavement trade since 2011 and running Clear Choice since 2017. Oldan quotes the job and Oldan is standing on it while it runs. When you call (719) 285-9736, that’s who answers.
Registered as a Colorado LLC and Insured, one-year warranty on our work, free estimates back inside 24 hours.
Common questions
Asphalt milling questions
What is asphalt milling?
Asphalt milling — also called cold planing — is the controlled removal of a pavement surface to a specified depth using a rotating drum fitted with carbide cutting teeth. It takes off damaged asphalt while leaving a uniform, textured surface for new pavement to bond to.
How much does asphalt milling cost in Colorado Springs?
Cost depends on square footage, cut depth, site access, and how much material has to be hauled. Small lots price higher per square foot than large ones because mobilization is the same either way. We quote flat, walk the property in person, and the estimate is free.
How deep can you mill asphalt?
From a half inch for surface correction up to full-depth removal. Most commercial mill-and-overlay work in Colorado Springs runs one and a half to two inches. We check the pavement before we set the cut rather than guessing.
How long does milling take?
Most residential and small commercial jobs mill in a single day, with paving following immediately or the next working day. Larger lots are phased so sections stay open and your business keeps running.
What happens to the millings?
They’re hauled off and recycled as reclaimed asphalt pavement, which goes back into new hot mix. If you want millings kept on site for a driveway or overflow lot, tell us before we start and we’ll leave them.
Related services
What usually comes next
Milling is a first step. Here’s what it’s normally paired with.
Get it cut right the first time
Free estimate back within 24 hours. Colorado Springs, Fountain, Monument, Falcon, Black Forest, Peyton, Security-Widefield, and Pueblo.
Call (719) 285-9736Built for Colorado. Built to Last.