Sidewalks & Walkways in Bowling Green, KY

Sidewalks and walkways are narrow slabs that get walked on every day, which makes small problems easy to notice. A section that drops an inch at a joint becomes a trip hazard. A walk that holds water becomes a sheet of ice on a January morning. Around older Bowling Green homes, front walks and city sidewalks often have tree roots, settled sections and flaking surfaces. Around newer homes, the usual request is a walk that should have been there from the start: from the driveway to the back gate, or across the side yard to the patio.

Common sidewalk problems

• Sections lifted by tree roots or sunk where soil washed out
• Flaking, pitted surfaces from freeze-thaw and salt
• Walks that pitch toward the house or trap water
• Broken edges along the lawn and driveway
• Steps that no longer line up with the walk

Public sidewalks and the right-of-way

The walk along the street usually sits inside the city right-of-way. Bowling Green requires a written right-of-way work permit for any digging, removal or other work in a city street, curb, gutter or sidewalk. Public Works' Planning and Design Division issues it, the city's fee is $75 per approved application, and the request has to be in at least 24 hours ahead. We settle that for your address before any concrete near the street gets broken out. Separately, the city's New Sidewalk Program, begun in 2007, adds sidewalks to streets that lack them as money allows. A request for a new public walk on your block goes to the city rather than to a contractor.

Get a Free Estimate

How we build a walkway

Damaged panels are cut out at their joints, or the whole walk comes out. Soft soil is dug away and replaced with compacted crushed stone. HomeGuide's sidewalk guide puts most walkways at 4 to 6 inches thick; we use the heavier end where a walk crosses a driveway or will carry a mower or cart. Each panel gets a slight cross-slope so water runs off, the mix is air-entrained, the surface is broomed for grip, and joints are tooled or cut every few feet so cracking happens at a joint instead of mid-panel.

Tree roots

Bowling Green neighborhoods have plenty of large trees, and roots are a common reason walks lift. When we replace a section near a tree, we can reroute the walk, widen the gap around the trunk or set a root barrier where it is safe for the tree. Cutting large roots can harm a tree, so it is worth talking to an arborist before major root work.

Width and layout

A 3-foot walk handles one person at a time. At 4 feet, two people can walk together, and strollers, carts and wheelchairs fit more easily. Curves can look better than straight runs but take longer to form. We mark the route with you, including where it meets steps, the driveway and gates.

Care

Shovel early before snow packs into ice. Use sand rather than rock salt on new concrete in its first winter. Seal every few years, and fill cracks so water does not reach the base.