Driveway Repair in North Plains, Oregon: Crack, Pothole & Resurfacing

Driveway Repair in North Plains, Oregon

A cracked or potholed driveway in North Plains usually has its roots in the ground underneath. The fine Tualatin Valley farm soil under most properties here soaks up water through the winter, loses strength when saturated, and moves with the seasons. That movement works on asphalt from below and shows up as surface cracks and potholes. Knowing whether you are looking at a quick fix or a sign of deeper trouble keeps you from overspending on a replacement you do not need or wasting money patching a driveway that is already failing.

This guide breaks down the repair options, what causes the damage around North Plains, and how to tell which path yours is on.

The Repair Decision Tree

Repairs run from least to most invasive depending on what is actually wrong:

Crack Filling

Isolated cracks under a quarter inch get cleaned and filled with flexible sealant. The point is keeping water out of the base, because water in the base is what turns a hairline crack into a structural failure. On any aging North Plains driveway, yearly crack filling before the wet season is cheap protection.

Patching

Potholes and small failed areas get cut out and patched: remove the bad asphalt to a sound base, repair the base if needed, and compact in new hot mix or quality cold patch. A patch that ignores what is underneath will not hold.

Resurfacing (Overlay)

If the surface is worn and cracked but the base is solid, a new asphalt layer over the existing driveway restores it for years at a fraction of replacement cost. Overlays only work over a sound base. Over a failing one, the cracks come right back through.

Full Replacement

Widespread alligator cracking, deep ruts, large potholes, or sections that have heaved and settled mean the base has failed. At that point patching is throwing money away, and tear-out with a properly rebuilt sub-base is the honest answer.

Our driveway cracking repair options guide goes deeper on each.

What Driveway Repair Costs in North Plains

Cost depends on damage type and extent, base work involved, length of the drive, and access. These are industry baseline ranges, not a Cojo quote.

Industry baseline ranges. Actual costs depend on damage extent, base condition, length, and access.

Repair Type	Common Unit	Industry Baseline Range
Crack filling	per linear ft	$1–$3
Pothole / patch repair	per sq ft	$3–$8
Resurfacing (overlay)	per sq ft	$2–$5
Full replacement	per sq ft	$5–$10

Crack-filling is a modest expense; rebuilding a failed base on a long rural drive runs well into the thousands. If you are leaning toward a fresh surface, our asphalt paving in North Plains guide covers new-driveway pricing.

Why North Plains Driveways Crack and Fail

The local culprits:

• Soft farm soils. The fine Tualatin Valley soil holds water and loses strength when saturated, flexing the base under load.
• Wet-dry cycling. Soils swell wet and shrink dry, and that seasonal movement fatigues pavement from below.
• Frost heave. Cold snaps freeze base moisture, lifting and cracking the surface, then leaving voids at thaw.
• Standing water. Flat ground and slow drainage let water sit on or beside the driveway, the fastest way to destroy asphalt.
• Heavy loads on rural drives. Trucks and farm equipment on an underbuilt base accelerate rutting and cracking.

Alligator cracking, the interconnected reptile-skin pattern, is the giveaway that the base has gone soft. When it spreads, surface fixes will not hold. For the signs pointing toward replacement, read signs your driveway needs repaving.

Keeping Repairs From Coming Back

In North Plains, keeping water out of the base is the whole game. Fill cracks before winter, make sure the driveway sheds water instead of pooling, and keep downspouts and field runoff from sheeting across the asphalt. A driveway that drains well and gets its cracks sealed on schedule outlasts a neglected one by years.

Sealcoating a sound driveway every few years slows oxidation and protects the surface, but it is maintenance, not repair. It will not fix structural cracking; on a healthy driveway it just buys time.

DIY vs Calling a Contractor

Minor crack filling and the odd cold-patch pothole are within reach for a handy homeowner. A contractor earns the call on anything touching the base, larger patches, overlays, long rural drives, or judging whether your driveway is repairable at all. Telling surface cracking apart from a failing base is the call that decides whether you spend hundreds or thousands. Cojo serves North Plains and the surrounding area, including driveway repair in Hillsboro and the wider Washington County market.