Asphalt Paving in Gaston, Oregon: 2026 Cost & Service Guide

Asphalt Paving in Gaston, Oregon

Gaston is a small farming community tucked between Forest Grove and Yamhill, right on the line where Washington County meets the wine country. Most paving work out here is residential driveways, farm access roads, and the occasional small-commercial lot for a tasting room, equipment shed, or rural shop. The town runs on Highway 47, and a lot of the properties sit on acreage with long approach drives that take a beating from farm trucks and tractor traffic.

Because Gaston sits in the rural west end of the county, finding a contractor who will actually drive out for a single driveway can be the hard part. Cojo Excavation & Asphalt serves Gaston from its Willamette Valley base, the same way it covers Forest Grove, Gaston, and the surrounding Washington County towns. We pave driveways, private lanes, and small commercial pads, and we know what the local soil and climate do to asphalt over a few seasons.

What Asphalt Paving Costs in Gaston

Pricing for asphalt depends far more on your site than on your zip code. Square footage, sub-base condition, access for trucks, and how much excavation the job needs all move the number. The figures below are industry baseline ranges drawn from national and regional reporting. Actual costs in the current Oregon market frequently run higher, so treat these as a starting point rather than a quote.

Industry baseline ranges shown below. Actual costs vary and are often higher based on site condition, access, material pricing, and the amount of prep your project needs.

Project Type	Industry Baseline Range
New residential driveway (per sq ft)	$3.00–$7.00
Driveway overlay / resurface (per sq ft)	$2.00–$4.50
Small commercial lot or pad (per sq ft)	$3.50–$8.00
Full tear-out and repave (per sq ft)	$4.00–$9.00

A standard two-car residential driveway in the 600 to 800 square foot range will land somewhere inside these baselines for a straightforward job, but a long rural approach drive of 1,500 feet or more is a different animal entirely. For a broader look at how these numbers break down across the state, see our asphalt paving cost in Oregon guide.

Why Sub-Base Matters in the Willamette Valley

The single biggest factor in whether your Gaston driveway lasts 8 years or 20 is what sits underneath the asphalt. Western Washington County has a lot of silty, clay-heavy valley soils that hold water. When that ground gets saturated through a wet PNW winter and then freezes on a cold snap, it swells and shifts. That freeze-thaw movement is what cracks pavement from below.

Good paving starts with a properly compacted aggregate base, usually crushed rock, graded so water drains away from the surface rather than pooling under it. On rural Gaston properties we often find native soil that needs to be dug out and replaced with engineered base before any asphalt goes down. Skipping that step is the most common reason a cheap driveway fails within a couple of winters.

Washington County Permits and ODOT Thresholds

Most residential driveway paving in Gaston does not require a building permit, but there are real triggers to watch:

• Access onto a county road or Highway 47 typically requires an approach or access permit from Washington County or ODOT, depending on whose road you connect to.
• New impervious surface above local stormwater thresholds can trigger drainage review, especially on larger commercial pads.
• Work in a floodplain or near a stream brings in additional county erosion and grading rules, which matters in the lowland areas near the Tualatin River drainage.

We handle these conversations as part of the job rather than leaving you to chase the county. If your project needs excavation or grading first, that often falls under separate erosion-control requirements.

The Best Time to Pave in Gaston

Asphalt needs warm, dry conditions to compact and cure properly. In the Willamette Valley that means the paving window runs roughly from late spring through early fall. Daytime temperatures above 50°F and a dry forecast give the mat time to set without trapping moisture.

Trying to pave during the wet season is asking for problems. Rain on fresh asphalt or a saturated sub-base leads to poor compaction and early failure. The practical reality in Gaston is that the good paving weeks fill up fast, so booking in spring for summer work is the smart play.

New Driveway vs. Overlay vs. Full Replacement

Not every aging driveway needs a full tear-out. The right call depends on the condition of the existing surface and the base beneath it.

• Overlay (resurface) works when the base is solid and the existing asphalt has surface wear but no deep structural cracking. A new layer goes over the old one.
• Full replacement is the answer when you have alligator cracking, base failure, drainage problems, or a surface that has been patched too many times.
• New install on bare ground is straightforward but lives or dies on the sub-base prep described above.

If your driveway is showing cracks and potholes but you are not sure how far gone it is, our driveway repair in Gaston guide walks through the decision tree. And once your new asphalt has cured, driveway sealcoating in Gaston protects the investment.

Why Hire a Regional Contractor

Rural towns like Gaston are often underserved because the drive time eats into a contractor's day. The flip side is that the contractor who does show up should know your conditions. We pave across Washington County and understand valley soils, the local permit picture, and the weather windows that actually work here. See our full Washington County asphalt paving coverage for how we serve the broader area, including nearby asphalt paving in Forest Grove.