Concrete Contractor in Lexington, MO

Lexington sits on bluffs above the Missouri River, and the ground under most of the old town is Grundy clay — heavy, expansive soil that swells when it is wet and shrinks when it is dry. On flat ground that movement is straight up and down. On Lexington's slopes it is not: expansive clay on a hillside creeps, sliding a fraction downhill with every wet-dry cycle, year after year. So a wall or a slab on the bluff is fighting two things at once — the seasonal heave every clay town deals with, and a slow lateral push that never stops.

Down along the river terraces the ground changes again to softer alluvium that holds moisture. The short answer to what makes Lexington different: the design has to hold ground that moves sideways as well as up, which is why retaining walls and drainage do so much of the work here. It is the same Grundy clay under Odessa a few miles west, but Odessa is flat and Lexington is not. Frost runs about 36 inches. We are 40 minutes from our Independence shop by I-70 and Highway 13.

On a river bluff the first question is what keeps the ground in place, so we sort the work by how much of it is grade-holding.

The surfaces that hold the grade come first. Retaining walls on these slopes live or die on their drainage and how they take the lateral push of creeping clay. Driveways and sidewalks and walkways on the bluff have to be built so a moving hillside does not drag them apart. The historic core is next, where the town's older concrete needs careful replacement: concrete repair, overlays and resurfacing, ADA ramps, and curbs and gutters that fit an 1800s streetscape. The living surfaces go on level, proven ground: patios, pool decks, stamped concrete, and stained and colored concrete. The commercial work — parking lots and warehouse and industrial floors — gets the same grade-and-drainage attention. We serve nearby Oak Grove and Blue Springs too. Our excavation guide and storm-drainage guide cover how we cut and drain a clay slope.

Lexington handles permits through City Hall, and projects in the historic area may draw an additional review of how the work fits the old brick-and-stone downtown. Jobs disturbing an acre or more fall under Missouri land-disturbance rules through the MoDNR. This is the Missouri side, so the state line and Kansas rules do not apply here. On these bluffs the drainage plan is usually the part the ground cares about most.

We keep the record honest. The Battle of Lexington State Historic Site and the old brick downtown are the town's landmarks, not our projects, and no national brand we built is in Lexington. The nearest is the Amazon facility we poured in Riverside; the Taco Bell is in Overland Park and the Domino's in Independence, and calling any of them Lexington work would be a lie. What this town gets is a crew that builds to hold a bluff and shed its water. See our work with general contractors or read our story. Call (816) 721-1699 for a free estimate in Lexington.