At a scheduled June 22 public hearing, held at the Moore Township Municipal Building, 2491 Community Drive, Moore Township Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to vacate Trach Road from the township’s road file.

The unsurfaced, unmaintained Trach Road appears to a casual observer to be a farm road that winds through two farms from Bauer Road to Summit Road. It has several areas that have experienced erosion from rainstorms.

The township had to make a decision to either invest tax dollars to repair the road or vacate it.

A financial analysis of the road indicated there would be perhaps a cost of $100,000 to upkeep the seldomly traveled road and additional annual maintenance costs to keep the road up to code.

Reached after the meeting, township Manager Nicholas Steiner said the decision to vacate makes the road essentially a long driveway for the two farms that line each side of the road from Bauer to Summit roads. Both adjacent farm property owners seemed satisfied with the decision, according to Steiner.

A request to have the road covered with dirt by the township was denied, as, according to Steiner, township Solicitor David Backenstoe noted once the road was vacated, it would be illegal for the township to use taxpayer dollars to upgrade a private driveway.

Steiner said the township has removed the Bauer Road and Summit Road street signs and installed temporary “road closed” signs that will be in place for 90 days. The two owners of the now driveway can either provide “road closed” or “private property” signs at the former entrances to the road or install a gate to prohibit cars from entering the vacated road.