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

Driveway Repair in Unity, Oregon

A driveway in Unity lives through hard winters. This tiny town high in the upper Burnt River valley on Highway 26 sees deep frost, real snow, and a long freeze-thaw season that goes after asphalt year after year. That climate is the main reason driveways crack and fail at this elevation. Knowing whether yours needs a simple crack-fill or a full rebuild keeps you from underspending on a real problem or overspending on a minor one. This guide lays out the repair options, when each makes sense, and what high-country conditions mean for your driveway.

The Repair Decision Tree

A cracked driveway does not always mean tear-out. The right fix depends on how deep the damage goes and how much of the surface is affected.

Crack Filling

For cracks up to about a quarter to half an inch wide, crack filling is the answer. Sealing cracks keeps water out of the base, which matters enormously in Unity because water in the base is what deep freeze-thaw turns into structural damage. Crack filling is the cheapest repair and the most important preventive step at this elevation. See our driveway cracking repair options guide for the full breakdown.

Patching

For a pothole, a localized soft spot, or a small broken-up area, patching is the move. The damaged section gets cut out, the base is checked, and new asphalt is compacted in. Patching handles isolated failures without redoing the whole driveway.

Resurfacing (Overlay)

If the base is sound but the surface is worn and showing widespread minor cracking, a resurface lays new asphalt over the existing surface. It restores the driveway and adds years, but only if the base is solid. On a frost-heaved high-country driveway with a failing base, an overlay just cracks again.

Full Replacement

Widespread alligator cracking, multiple heaved or sunken areas, or a failed base point to replacement. Tearing out and rebuilding with proper base and drainage costs more up front but ends the cycle of repeated repairs, which is common on neglected high-elevation driveways. Our guide on the signs your driveway needs repaving covers the warning signs.

What Driveway Repair Costs in Unity

Industry baseline ranges shown below. Actual costs vary with damage severity, base condition, haul distance, and access.

Repair Type	Industry Baseline Range
Crack filling	$1–$3 per linear ft
Pothole/patch repair	$100–$400 per patch
Resurfacing/overlay	$2.50–$5 per sq ft
Full replacement	$6–$12 per sq ft

In a town as remote as Unity these run toward the higher end, and often above it, because of the long haul from the nearest asphalt plant and the cost of getting a crew to such a distant site. Small jobs carry proportionally high mobilization cost, so bundling repairs or timing them with other work helps spread it out.

Why Unity Driveways Fail

Deep Freeze-Thaw

This is the core issue at Unity's elevation. Water seeps into cracks and the base, freezes, expands, then thaws, over and over through a long winter. That cycle turns small cracks into big ones and can heave a stable base. The fix-it-early principle matters more here than almost anywhere. Sealing cracks before winter keeps water out and slows the whole process.

Alligator Cracking

The interconnected pattern that looks like reptile skin signals base failure, usually from water and load. Once it spreads, surface repairs stop working and you are patching to the base or replacing.

Snowmelt and Drainage

A driveway that holds water, or sits where snowmelt pools, fails faster. Part of any good repair is making sure water sheds off the surface rather than soaking into the base, which matters even more in a snow climate.

Catch Problems Before Winter

The cheapest repair is the one you do before damage spreads. In Unity that means walking your driveway in late summer and sealing any cracks before the snow and freezes arrive. A quarter-inch crack filled in late summer costs a few dollars. The same crack left through a long high-country winter can become a base failure that costs many times more.

Choosing a Driveway Repair Contractor in Unity

Unity is one of the more remote towns in the region, so the contractors who serve it travel a long way. Look for one who:

• Diagnoses honestly. Tells you when a crack-fill will do, and when replacement is the real answer.
• Checks the base. Surface repairs over a failed base are wasted money.
• Understands deep freeze-thaw. It is the whole story for asphalt at this elevation.
• Is clear on travel cost. Long-haul jobs carry mobilization; an honest quote names it.

Cojo travels from its Willamette Valley base to serve Unity and Baker County. We diagnose straight, fix what needs fixing, and build repairs to handle high-country winters.

For related work, see asphalt paving in Unity, driveway sealcoating in Unity, and driveway repair in Baker City for the nearest larger market.