Alligator Cracking Repair in Hermiston, Oregon

Quick Verdict

Alligator cracking repair in Hermiston means full-depth repair, not a surface fix. The interlocking, scaly crack pattern is fatigue cracking, and it tells you the base under your pavement has lost strength and is flexing under load. In Hermiston's Columbia Basin climate, freeze-thaw cycling plus water in the base is the usual driver. Sealing or overlaying alligatored pavement is throwing money away — it reflects back within a season. The real fix is to saw-cut the failed area, dig out the bad base, rebuild it, and pave back to grade.

What Alligator Cracking Means on Hermiston Pavement

Alligator cracking — also called fatigue or crocodile cracking — is a network of connected cracks that resemble reptile skin. It starts in the wheel paths under the heaviest loads and spreads from there. A single crack is a surface issue; alligator cracking is structural. The layers below the asphalt can no longer carry traffic without bending, and that bending fatigues the surface until it shatters into the scaly pattern.

In Hermiston, two local forces drive it. East of the Cascades in Umatilla County, winters bring hard freeze-thaw cycling that moves water through the pavement structure and weakens the base. The Columbia Basin's irrigated agriculture and seasonal moisture can also keep water near the surface in spots. When that water sits in the base and traffic presses down, the pavement fatigues from the bottom up — and the alligator pattern is what you see when it finally gives.

Why Surface Treatments Don't Work

Alligator cracking is a bottom-up failure. The cracked surface is the symptom, not the cause, which is why nothing applied to the top will hold:

• Sealcoat is a thin coating with no strength. It cannot stop pavement that is flexing underneath, and the cracks come right back.
• Thin overlays sit on a moving base. They flex and re-crack in the same pattern within a season or two.
• Crack filler is for single, non-load cracks. Pumping it into an alligatored area does nothing for the failed structure below.

The cracking is also a warning sign about the layers you cannot see — our sub-base failure signs guide covers what to look for, and the pavement distress diagnosis guide shows how to read the patterns.

How Cojo Repairs Alligator Cracking in Hermiston

Done right, the repair gets to the actual failure:

1. Map the full failure. Fatigue spreads underground past what shows on the surface, so we mark the whole affected area.
2. Saw-cut square edges. Clean cuts past the visible cracking give the patch sound pavement to bond to.
3. Excavate the failed material. The cracked asphalt and the weak base under it come out.
4. Address the cause. In Hermiston that usually means improving drainage, adding a geotextile fabric, or extra rock to firm the sub-grade so freeze-thaw water cannot keep weakening it.
5. Rebuild and compact the base. New crushed aggregate goes back in lifts, compacted to grade.
6. Pave and seal the patch. Fresh hot-mix is laid, compacted, and the joints are sealed against water.

Skipping the base is what makes a patch fail. For more on the root causes, see what causes alligator cracking.

What Alligator Cracking Repair Costs in Hermiston

Cost is driven by how much area has failed, how deep the bad base runs, and how accessible the site is.

Repair Scope	What's Involved	Relative Cost
Small isolated patch	One wheel-path area dug and rebuilt	Lowest
Multiple failed areas	Several full-depth patches	Moderate
Widespread failure	Reclamation or full rebuild	Highest

Industry Baseline Range: full-depth alligator repair in eastern Oregon typically runs in the range of $4 to $9 per square foot+ depending on dig depth and base condition. These are industry baseline ranges for planning only — actual pricing depends on lot size, access, condition, and current market conditions. Get a site-specific quote.

Current Market Reality

Asphalt and aggregate prices move with the index and with trucking distance, and Hermiston's location means hauling can add to the cost. Oregon's May-to-October paving window is tighter still east of the Cascades, where cold weather closes paving earlier — so widespread repairs should be scheduled well ahead.

When It's a Rebuild, Not a Patch

If alligator cracking covers more than roughly a quarter of a lot or drive, spot patches stop making sense. Full-depth reclamation — grinding the old asphalt and base together and rebuilding — or a complete tear-out usually delivers better value at that point. We will give you a straight read on which your Hermiston pavement needs.

If you are seeing scaly, interlocking cracks on a Hermiston lot, driveway, or private road, request a Hermiston assessment. Cojo's asphalt repair services cover Hermiston and Umatilla County, and we will tell you whether it is a patch or a rebuild before you spend.