Parked trailers punish pavement. Landing gear concentrates a loaded trailer's weight on a few square feet of surface, a tractor turning under load grinds the top layer away, and a summer afternoon softens asphalt that was fine in March. The truck court and trailer yard at an industrial facility is the part of the project that takes the most abuse for the longest time, and in the Albuquerque metro it also has to shed desert storms without standing water. We design-build it as a structure, not as parking.
Our truck court work includes the subgrade, base, concrete or asphalt paving, joints, drainage, striping, dock approach slabs, dolly pads for landing gear, guard rails, bollards and the lighting and fencing that make the yard usable at night. On a distribution site it is often the largest line item after the building itself, and it is where the daily operation lives: queues, turning, backing, staging and parking all happen on it.
The right design starts with the trucks. We ask how many trailers need to be staged, how they enter and leave, what turning radii they need, which direction they back toward the dock and whether the yard has to handle refrigerated trailers or heavy equipment loads. The paving section follows from those answers, not from a standard detail. If those answers are not available yet, we work from a conservative design vehicle and say so in the proposal, so the number is honest and can be revised.
Concrete is the usual choice at dock aprons and in trailer parking where landing gear and turning loads would rut asphalt. We build it with reinforced or dowelled joints, controlled jointing patterns and appropriate thickness, and we cure it carefully, because high-desert sun and wind can dry the surface faster than the slab can hold its water. Drive lanes may be asphalt or concrete depending on the owner's budget and the traffic.
Subgrade preparation is where durability is decided. We follow the geotechnical recommendations for proof-rolling, overexcavation and stabilization, and we test compaction and base thickness before paving. A well-compacted base will outlast a thicker slab on a weak one. The site grading that precedes the court is planned so slopes meet drainage needs and the pavement sections are consistent.
Site circulation is more than a drawing exercise. Public street access, turn lanes, queuing space and the angle of the driveway determine whether trucks stack up on the road. For sites along the I-40 corridor on the West Mesa, the interchange spacing is significant: exits 155, 154, 153 and 149 serve Coors, Unser, 98th Street and Atrisco Vista respectively, and an owner's traffic plan has to account for how trucks will use those ramps.
Inside the gate, we check turning paths against the design vehicle, the grade changes at dock aprons and the clearance for emergency vehicles. A court that works on paper but forces tight backing maneuvers will cause damage and slow the operation. For cross-dock facilities especially, the arrangement described under truck terminals and cross-docks has to be validated against how trailers actually move.
Area, thickness and type of paving dominate the cost, followed by subgrade work, drainage and lighting. Concrete costs more up front than asphalt but tends to cost less to maintain under heavy loads, so owners often use concrete where trucks stop and turn and asphalt where they simply drive. We price alternate sections so you can make that choice with data.
Drainage is the sleeper. A large paved area needs inlets, trench drains, swales or sheet flow to a basin, and the cost of that system can be substantial. It is tied to the stormwater detention and drainage design, and coordination between the two saves money. For logistics and distribution owners, the long-term view matters: a yard that needs patching every year costs more than one paved correctly once.
Pavement markings, signs, bollards, wheel stops, crosswalks and lighting all contribute to safety. Pedestrians cross the yard, drivers walk to the gatehouse and forklifts operate near the docks. We lay out separate pedestrian paths wherever the plan allows, and we install lighting levels suited to night operations.
Fueling, hazardous materials and refrigerated trailers have their own requirements. If your yard includes a fuel island, a vehicle wash or a charging area, we coordinate containment, drainage and electrical needs early. These features can change the paving and drainage design, so it is better to know in advance than to retrofit.
Truck-oriented sites show up all over the region. Edgewood sits at I-40 exit 187 where NM 344 meets the interstate, and its commercial district runs along NM 66, part of the post-1937 Route 66 alignment, and NM 344. On the Westside, the mesa gives owners large, flat parcels with long truck approaches.
In the south, rail-served parks offer yards that combine truck and rail operations. The Central New Mexico Rail Park in Los Lunas lists transload, car storage and industry spurs, which means yard layouts may need to accommodate both. Our dock aprons and loading zones and yard teams plan those interfaces together.
Send the design vehicle, the number of trailer positions and the site plan, and we will return a pavement and drainage approach with budget options.
Concrete is better where trailers park, turn and back, because it resists rutting and fuel. Asphalt is acceptable for drive lanes and lighter traffic and costs less initially. Many sites use both. We price both and recommend a split based on your traffic and how much maintenance you want to take on.
That is determined by the pavement design, which depends on traffic volume, loads and the subgrade strength from the geotechnical report. We build to the engineer's design. If you want to compare alternatives, we can price different sections and show the long-term maintenance implications.
Through careful grading, adequate slope and a drainage system sized for the area. We verify grades with survey before and after paving, and we correct low spots while the concrete is still workable. Standing water shortens pavement life and creates icy spots in cold weather.
Yes. We divide the yard into sections, keep truck routes open and schedule pours so that curing time does not block critical lanes. Concrete needs a set period before it carries traffic, and we plan.
Joint sealing, crack repair and striping refresh are the regular items. We provide recommendations at turnover and can be engaged for periodic inspections. Early attention to joints and cracks is far cheaper than repairing a failed panel.
Tell us about the property, the building and the schedule.
Request a Project Review