At Erickson Asphalt, we recently installed a 30,000 sq ft parking lot for Milaca Meats. This family-owned business provides a range of meat products, from custom cuts to a full retail experience with homemade sausages, jerky, and more. They’re expanding with a new processing facility and retail store, and we are thrilled we got to be part of that growth.
The project was straightforward, but it came with unique challenges. The lot was already rough-graded, with the base layer in place. We handled the final grading on the first day to prepare it perfectly for paving. By day two, we were ready to lay 540 tons of hot mix asphalt, completing the job in one efficient operation. Once we finished the paving, we started striping the lot, giving it a clean, professional look that matched the high standards Milaca Meats holds.
An interesting part of this project involved consulting with Milaca Meats about their options for asphalt installation. The engineering plans specified two separate 1.5” lifts of asphalt, but we offered an alternative single 3” lift, which provided significant cost savings. Milaca Meats appreciated the flexibility and the savings, and the single lift worked perfectly within their budget and project goals.
One of the main challenges of this project was managing the water drainage across the parking lot. The layout and engineering specifications allowed for only a 0.4% slope across 200 feet, meaning we had less than one-foot elevation drop across the entire lot span.
For perspective, the recommended minimum drainage slope is 1%, which would have meant about a 2.5-foot drop across the same distance. Achieving effective drainage with a slope this shallow is tricky, but our team worked diligently to ensure asphalt was laid smoothly, resulting in no puddles despite the minimal slope.
Seeing this project come together with such precision, especially with the unique drainage challenges, was incredibly rewarding. Milaca Meats now has a fully functional, aesthetically pleasing parking lot to support their new facility, and we are proud our team delivered exactly what they needed.
