County Road Maintenance System (CRMS)
The County Road Maintenance System (CRMS) is made up of all of those public highways, streets and roads, both paved and unpaved, that have been dedicated for public use and accepted by Richland County as prescribed in Chapter 21 of the Richland County Code of Ordinances and which have not been accepted for maintenance by any other public entity. Public roads within the CRMS are exclusive of those maintained by the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT).
Paved County Roads
The network of paved public roads that are maintained by the Roads & Drainage Maintenance (RDM) Division are 621 miles in length. Most, but not all, of these roads are within residential neighborhoods. Typical maintenance activities performed by RDM include:
- street sweeping,
- pothole patching,
- full-depth patching,
- sidewalk repair,
- trimming of overhanging / low-hanging tree branches,
- curb and sidewalk repair, and
- repair of sinkholes in culvert pipes.
Capital maintenance, typically performed by a contractor, includes pavement rejuvenation and pavement rehabilitation
Unpaved County Roads
The network of unpaved public roads that are maintained by RDM are 205 miles in length. Most of these roads are within rural areas of the County. Many have been improved through the application of rock or slag. Typical maintenance activities performed by RDM include:
- road scraping,
- removing silt from roadside ditches,
- repair of sinkholes in culvert pipes, and
- trimming of overhanging / low-hanging tree branches.
Rural Road Shoulder Maintenance – RDM employees mow vegetation growing within rural road rights-of-way. Vegetation shall be removed from curbs, gutters, ditches, and entrances of storm drain systems along CRMS to allow runoff to properly flow to an outfall. Tasks associated with this type of maintenance shall include: cut and mow road shoulders in rural areas and cleaning and removing vegetation and debris that has grown in ditches and gutters.
Driveway Apron Installation
RDM employees may, at the request of the fronting property owner, install a single driveway apron per parcel off roads within the CRMS in order to permit property access and ensure proper drainage of stormwater. Installation shall be in accordance with Section 21-8 of the Richland County Code of Ordinances and at no cost to the property owner. A detail of the installation is contained in enclosure (1) of this SOP. The surface material of the Apron shall match the surface material of the fronting County road or street. If a culvert is required, reinforced concrete pipe (RCP) shall be used. The culvert pipe diameter and invert elevations shall be determined by the Area Maintenance Supervisor and be consistent with any nearby culvert pipe installations. Assistance in those determinations may be provided by request of the County Engineering (EGR) staff.