Johnston Driveway and Parking Lot Sealcoating
Settlement here goes back to 1846, when Ezekiel Hunt set up a sawmill, and the town's name comes from the Interurban electric railroad of 1907, whose Johnston Station honored station agent John F. Johnston. Camp Dodge has served as a military training site since 1908 and covers 4,500 acres in the north of the city, and the hybrid corn work Henry A. Wallace began in the late 1920s grew into Pioneer Hi-Bred, now Corteva. Johnston incorporated in the fall of 1969 with 2,236 residents; the 2020 census counted 24,064.
Most of the housing is recent. Of the 9,720 units in the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 survey, 8,017, about 83 percent, were built in 1990 or later, and only 724 predate 1980, for a median year built of 2004. Beaver Creek runs south through the middle of the city before turning east to the Des Moines River, which forms the eastern border, and part of Saylorville Reservoir lies inside the city limits. Lots near the creek and the river make drainage the first thing to check on any drive.
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Johnston rules that reach the driveway
Once the city declares a snow emergency, parking is banned on city streets, alleys and city-owned lots from the proclamation until 5 p.m. the following day. City rules are blunt about driveway snow: no one may place, throw or push snow onto city streets from private property, sidewalks or driveways, and sidewalks must be cleared within 48 hours of a snowfall. With the street ruled out, driveway snow ends up on the lawn. A pile that drains back across the asphalt keeps its cracks wet through the thaw, so the downhill side of the drive is the place for it.
Right-of-way work goes through a formal permit. Johnston asks for a right-of-way bond, a certificate of liability insurance, construction documents and a permit fee before it reviews an application, and it does not schedule inspections of sidewalks or driveway approaches until the permit is approved. Public work follows the statewide SUDAS specifications, which make Iowa the only state with uniform urban design standards, plus Johnston's own supplements. Private water, sanitary and storm lines are not located by the city or Iowa One Call. No Johnston coal-tar restriction appears on the national ban tally.
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Asphalt Sealcoating Services Available in Johnston
Each service on this site is available in Johnston as well:
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Johnston FAQs
Does Johnston inspect new driveway approaches?
Yes, once there is a permit. The city states that inspections of sidewalks and approaches will not be scheduled until a right-of-way permit is approved, and it will not review an application until the bond, the insurance certificate, the construction documents and the fee are all in hand. A contractor quoting a new or widened approach should build that lead time into the schedule and pull the permit before the old pavement comes out.
Why do private utility lines matter before digging up a Johnston driveway?
Because nobody else will mark them. Johnston notes that private water, sanitary, storm and other private lines are not located by the city or by Iowa One Call, so an 811 request alone leaves them unmarked. A sump discharge pipe, a yard drain or a private service line can run under a driveway, so a full-depth patch or replacement should start with the owner and contractor tracing those lines.
When will Johnston look at the sidewalk in front of a home?
The city is divided into eight zones, and each year staff or a contracted firm inspects one zone to decide which sidewalks need repair, replacement or construction. The adjacent owner is responsible for the walk and can fix it personally, hire a contractor, or use the city contract and pay directly or through a special assessment. Where a driveway crosses the walk, it makes sense to line up the driveway work with the sidewalk repair.
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