Driveway Repair in Arlington, Oregon: Crack, Pothole & Resurfacing

Driveway Repair in Arlington, Oregon

Arlington sits on the Columbia River in Gilliam County, with I-84 running through town and the dryland wheat of the Columbia Plateau spreading out behind it. The climate here is hard on asphalt. Hot, dry high-desert summers cook the surface, and cold winters drive the freeze-thaw cycle that splits cracks open a little wider every year. If your driveway is showing its age, the smart first step is figuring out exactly which repair it needs before you spend money.

Arlington is well off the beaten path for paving contractors. The crews that do quality residential and small-commercial work travel in, and haul distance is part of any real quote. Cojo serves Gilliam County as a regional contractor based in the Willamette Valley. We make the trip because remote property owners deserve the same standard of work as anyone in the city, and getting the repair right the first time is what saves you from paying twice. Here is how to read your driveway.

Crack-Fill vs Patch vs Resurface vs Replace

Driveway problems generally fall into four categories. Matching the fix to the actual problem keeps you from overpaying for a replacement when a crack-fill would hold, and keeps you from wasting filler on a driveway that is already failing.

Crack-Fill

The lightest repair and usually the first one an Arlington driveway needs. Once water finds a crack, the plateau's freeze-thaw cycle widens it every winter. Sealing cracks while they are still narrow, under a quarter to a half inch, keeps water out of the base. Hot rubberized crack filler bonds better and lasts far longer than the cold-pour tubes from the hardware store. Industry baseline ranges put crack-fill at a modest per-linear-foot rate, with the total driven by how much cracking you have.

Patch

For a localized failure, a pothole, a sunken spot, or a crumbled patch of surface, patching is the answer. The contractor saw-cuts the bad area, fixes the base if needed, and lays fresh compacted hot-mix to match the surrounding grade. Patching makes sense when the rest of the driveway is sound and you have one or two trouble spots rather than widespread breakdown.

Resurface (Overlay)

If the surface is worn and scattered with cracks but the base underneath is still solid, a resurface gives you a fresh wearing course. A new inch and a half to two inches of asphalt goes over the cleaned, prepped surface. Resurfacing costs much less than full replacement and buys years of life, but only over a sound base. Put an overlay over a failing foundation and it cracks along the same lines within a season.

Replace

Sometimes asphalt is simply finished. The clearest sign is alligator cracking, the interconnected web pattern that means the base has failed. No surface treatment fixes a failed base. Full replacement, tear-out to the sub-base, regrade, and repave, costs more up front but is the only repair that solves the underlying problem. Our driveway cracking repair options guide explains how to tell surface cracks from structural ones.

Why Arlington Driveways Break Down

The Columbia Plateau's freeze-thaw climate is the main driver. Water seeps into cracks, freezes overnight, expands, and forces the gap wider. Run that cycle through a winter and a hairline crack becomes a pothole. Frost-heave is the related problem: when moisture in a poorly drained sub-base freezes, it lifts the soil and cracks whatever sits on top.

The base matters as much as the climate. A driveway is only as good as what is under it. If the original install cut corners on base depth or compaction, or if a low spot near the river holds moisture, the asphalt has nothing solid to rest on. Add intense summer UV that dries out the binder and leaves the surface brittle, and you get the fast aging that is common up here. Our signs your driveway needs repaving guide covers the warning signs to catch early.

Industry Baseline Pricing (With Caveats)

Repair pricing is genuinely hard to give sight-unseen, and for a remote town like Arlington haul distance is a real cost factor. The figures below are industry baseline ranges, not a Cojo price. Your actual number depends on size, severity, base condition, access, and travel.

• Crack-fill — baselined at a low per-linear-foot rate; scales with crack volume
• Pothole and patch — baselined per patch or square foot; deeper base repairs cost more
• Resurface / overlay — baselined per square foot, well under replacement
• Full replacement — most expensive; baselined per square foot including tear-out

The honest way to get a real number is a site visit. For full paving rather than repair, see our asphalt paving in Arlington guide.

Repair or Replace?

A working rule: if under a quarter of the driveway is damaged and the base is sound, repair. If more than a third shows alligator cracking, the driveway is past 15 to 20 years old, or patches keep failing, replacement usually beats chasing the damage. Solve any drainage problem at the same time, because water is what destroys asphalt and a repair that ignores drainage is temporary. Keep new and repaired asphalt protected with periodic sealcoating; our sealcoating in Arlington guide covers cadence.