How a Driveway Flare at the Street Should Work

The flare widens the driveway at the curb so a car can turn in without riding the lawn. The town usually controls the curb cut width and the sidewalk cross slope. Measure only what you are allowed to pave. Include the trapezoid in the tons. Match the gutter so the flare does not pond.

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A wider throat for the turn

The flare is the widened throat where the driveway meets the street. It lets a car turn in without climbing the curb or the lawn. The shape is usually a trapezoid: narrow at the drive, wider at the curb. The town usually controls the curb cut width and the sidewalk cross slope. Measure only the area you are allowed to pave. A wider flare that looks convenient can be the thing the permit rejects, or it can flatten a sidewalk that people need to cross. Ask the local official what width and what sidewalk slope they will accept before you order mix. Write the allowed width on the sketch. This page is not that permission.

Put the trapezoid in the tons

A rectangle of the driveway misses the flare. Average the two widths and multiply by the length. A flare that runs from 12 feet at the drive to 18 feet at the curb over 10 feet has an average width of 15 feet. Fifteen times 10 is 150 square feet. At 2 inches and 145 pounds per cubic foot, 150 times 2 divided by 12, times 145, divided by 2,000, is 25 times 145 divided by 2,000, about 1.8 tons. That is a planning estimate for the flare alone. Add the rest of the driveway. The plant ticket is the real weight. If the town only allows a 14 foot opening, redraw the trapezoid before you order. Paving extra and hoping to keep it is how aprons get torn out.

Match the gutter instead of damming it

A flare that sits high at the gutter ponds water and ices in winter. Match the gutter grade. The new asphalt should meet the street in a way that lets water run along the curb, which is often a butt joint at full thickness rather than a feather the plow will catch. Tack on that joint, if the quote lists it, is the crew's bond coat, not a spray project for you. Sidewalk cross slope still has to work for people walking across the apron. Check the current ADA Standards if the sidewalk is an accessible route, and ask the local official, because the flare and the walk share the same square feet. Include every allowed square foot in the tons, and leave the unallowed square feet as grass.

A practical sequence

Ask the local official what curb cut width and sidewalk slope you may pave.
Measure the flare as a trapezoid and add it to the driveway area.
Plan those tons at 145 pounds per cubic foot, and use the plant ticket as the real weight.
Match the gutter grade so the flare does not hold water or ice.

The mistake to skip

Ordering tons for the straight driveway and forgetting the flare, or paving a flare the town did not allow.

Questions people ask

How do I measure a driveway flare?

Treat it as a trapezoid. Average the width at the driveway and the width at the curb, then multiply by the length. A flare from 12 to 18 feet over 10 feet is 150 square feet. At 2 inches and 145 pounds per cubic foot that is about 1.8 tons as a planning estimate. The plant ticket is the real weight. Measure only what you are allowed to pave.

Who decides how wide the flare can be?

The town usually controls the curb cut and the sidewalk cross slope. Ask the local official before you pave. If the sidewalk is an accessible route, also check the current ADA Standards. A flare that ponds at the gutter will ice. Match the gutter. This page does not grant a permit or set the legal width.

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