Indiana winters are hard on concrete. Temperatures swing above and below freezing dozens of times a season, and every swing lets water soak into cracks and pores, freeze, expand, and push the concrete apart a little more. Add road salt tracked in on tires and you have the recipe for scaling, spalling, and the long cracks most driveways in Greater Lafayette eventually show.
Most of that damage starts underneath. A driveway poured on soft soil or a thin, poorly compacted base will settle unevenly, and once the slab is no longer fully supported, it cracks under the weight of the car. That's why we spend so much of a driveway job on base prep: removing soft material, bringing in stone, and compacting it in layers before any concrete arrives.
Control joints matter too. Concrete shrinks as it cures and moves with the seasons, and it will crack somewhere. Properly spaced joints decide where. A driveway with joints cut at the right depth and spacing cracks neatly inside the joints instead of randomly across the slab.
Finally, drainage. A driveway should slope away from the garage and the house so melting snow runs off instead of sitting on the surface. Combine a solid base, the right joints, good slope, and a sealer applied after curing, and a concrete driveway will handle Indiana winters for decades.