Richland County to repair roads in northeast community
February 27, 2017
Richland County is taking steps to resolve a long-standing concern among Hunters Run subdivision residents who have sought help for several years to upgrade crumbling roads in their Blythewood-area neighborhood.
The County’s efforts continue an overall strategy by the new County Administrator to address outstanding issues, and to move staff to be more responsive to County Council directives and residents’ needs.
A remedy to the road situation was bogged down initially over issues related to ownership of the roads in the multi-phase subdivision. The County has a policy that a developer must ensure roads in a community meet specific County standards before the roads are accepted into the County’s road maintenance program.
However, in November 2015, County Council voted to accept the roads and storm drainage in the community “as is.” But the work was never performed.
While it is still unclear why staff did not proceed with the project, County Administrator Gerald Seals is simply focused on getting the work done.
“We own the roads and we’re going to fix them,” said Seals, who joined the County on an interim basis in July and in late 2016 was appointed by Council to fill the position. “The residents have been informed, a schedule has been set and we are committed to getting this taken care of as soon as possible.”
Under Seals, a review of a variety of issues is underway in an effort to resolve outstanding concerns and to follow through on Council directives.
“It will take time,” Seals said. “But we’re committed to providing excellent service to the people we serve.”
An Assistant County Administrator attended a community meeting in Hunters Run on Thursday night to inform residents of the County’s plan of action for the roads.
An engineering evaluation is scheduled to begin in April, with repair work to start in May. Work is expected to last through the fall. In addition, Richland County will maintain the roads once the project is completed.
