Road Tour: Richland Supervisors Go for A Ride to Check Out Asphalt

When I hear Road Tour, I think rock band and groupies.

But Wednesday night's road tour with the Richland Board of Supervisors was a little less wild ... even though Township Manager Dean Bastianini was jokingly chided for driving too fast.

Twice a year the supervisors pile into a couple of vehicles and tour certain roads in the township that are on a "to-be-paved" list.

The good news is that none of the roads looked all that bad. Some have cracks that eventually will turn into potholes, but that's why they are on the list.

We traveled 8 miles with the understanding that the supervisors will budget up to $1.2 million to contract with a private company to pave 5 miles. Budget sessions start in November.

Town Manager Dean Bastianini arranged the tour with Jerry Reichart, director of the township's public works department, to give the supervisors a view of the roads before they make their decision.

The roads on the "nominee" list are in the Wedgewood plan, Heckert Road, Richland Park, Allison Road, Yorktown Road, Woodhill-Applewood, Community Center Drive and Fisher Road.

"These roads are almost 12 years old," Bastianini said before the tour. "We've been talking about a 12-year plan for about 13 years now."

A dozen years ago, the township made a prioritized list of roads that needed work. With the repaving of South Montour Road this year, the list has come full circle.

The key now is to keep up a maintenance and paving schedule on those roads.

"Jerry's done a great job with the roads," Allen said about Reichart, whose six-man staff maintains the roads throughout the year. "The plan is the thing—having a plan and keeping up with it."