Asphalt Paving in Oregon City, OR

Asphalt paving in Oregon City has to deal with a town built on two levels. Wikipedia describes a lower area on a bench next to the Willamette River and an upper area on top of a bluff of Canemah basalt that flowed from a vent about 2.5 million years ago. The two levels are linked by stairs and by the Municipal Elevator, first built in 1915. Oregon City is the Clackamas County seat and had 37,572 residents in 2020, up from 25,754 in 2000. We pave driveways, repair and resurface aging asphalt, sealcoat, and pave and stripe business lots.

The oldest incorporated city in the West

Oregon City incorporated in 1844, the first U.S. city west of the Rocky Mountains to do so, and it served as capital of the Oregon Territory from 1848 to 1851. It is known as the end of the Oregon Trail. That age shows in the older parts of town, where houses sit on small lots with short, steep driveways and alleys. Paving there often means working against old retaining walls, stairs and narrow streets, and fitting new asphalt cleanly against concrete walks and curbs that are themselves decades old.

Slopes and runoff on the bluff

On the upper level and on hillside streets between the two, driveways can be steep. Rain falling on a sloped driveway picks up speed, and if it is not directed off the pavement it will cut along the edges and wash out the base. Oregon City averages about 44.81 inches of precipitation a year, so we plan every sloped drive with drainage first: compacted base, firm edges, and a clear path for water at the bottom so it does not run into a garage or across a neighbor's yard.

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Newer neighborhoods to the south

Growth over the last few decades has spread toward the south and east of the city, served by Oregon Route 213, while Interstate 205 passes along the northern edge and Routes 99E and 43 serve downtown. Subdivision driveways in these newer areas are generally sound underneath, so regular crack filling and sealcoating, or an overlay when the surface wears out, can keep them going for a long time. About 64.9 percent of occupied homes in the city were owner-occupied in 2020, and many owners ask us about protecting a driveway before it needs major work.

Heat and cold extremes

The city has seen both: a record high of 114 degrees on June 28, 2021, and a record low of minus 2 degrees on January 31, 1950. Hot spells make fresh asphalt slow to firm up, and hard freezes widen any crack holding water. Crack filling in late summer, before the rains return, is one of the most cost-effective things an Oregon City homeowner can do.

Services in Oregon City

• Driveway paving: new and replacement driveways on flat and sloped lots
• Repair: potholes, edge washouts and sunken spots
• Resurfacing: overlays where the base is sound
• Sealcoating: summer protection
• Parking lot paving: downtown and highway-corridor businesses
• Striping: layouts, restriping and accessible stalls

Call (971) 813-2104 for a free estimate in Oregon City.