NHIE exam practice question · Analysis & Reporting
Alligator cracking in asphalt is a fatigue pattern — an interconnected web of cracks that forms when the surface has flexed over a weakened or saturated base more times than it can tolerate. It is a base failure showing through, which is why it is not repairable by surface treatment: sealing the cracks leaves the failing base underneath, and the pattern returns. Combined with depressions, which indicate the base has actually lost support in places, the finding describes a driveway near the end of its service life. The right framing for the report is service life and budgeting: the surface is functional now, deterioration will continue, and the client should plan for resurfacing or reconstruction rather than treat it as either trivial or urgent.
Alligator cracking is fatigue failure of the base showing through the surface, and depressions confirm loss of support. Together they place the driveway near the end of its useful life, so the report frames it as a planned resurfacing rather than a defect to fix or ignore.
Asphalt pavement fails by fatigue when the base is inadequate or saturated. Alligator cracking indicates base failure rather than surface wear, and depressions indicate loss of base support. Remedies are resurfacing over a repaired base, or full reconstruction.
Alligator Means the Base. The web on top is a message from underneath, and no sealant reaches the sender.
Service-life findings sit between cosmetic and urgent. When both extremes are offered alongside a budgeting framing, the budgeting framing is usually correct.
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