Hempfield will engage AI system to evaluate need for road work

Hempfield is tapping into technology to get a better understanding of the condition of its 300 miles of roads.

Township supervisors on Wednesday approved a five-year agreement with Vialytics that officials said will help them prioritize roads in need of improvements. Township manager Aaron Siko said the software will help identify potholes and cracks in roads while assessing pavement markings and the reflectivity of road signs.

“It allows us the opportunity to evaluate the entire road system,” he said.

The township’s road paving budget was slashed from $2.5 million in 2024 to $1.8 million in 2025 after a proposed property tax millage increase was rejected by a majority of supervisors. The tax increase would have brought in a designated stream for the township’s 10 fire departments while allowing the paving budget to remain untouched. The 2025 budget also was approved Wednesday.

The agreement with New Jersey-based Vialytics will cost $32,710 annually.

Officials are working with the online system to help increase efficiency, Supervisor Doug Weimer said.

Hempfield will be provided with four iPhones to be used in any township vehicle that will capture data about roads traveled by employees from any department, Siko said. Artificial intelligence will identify potential issues.

“It’ll give us a chance to get representative imagery,” he said.

Once the employee returns to the township building, the data will be uploaded. The data will help officials identify what areas are in need of improvements so they can be targeted quickly, Weimer said.

“We’re going to have an instantaneous report,” he said.

On its website, Vialytics said the system photographs the road every 10 feet, and the devices come with GPS tracking and timestamps. Artificial intelligence can identify 15 types of road damage, as well as problems with traffic signs, manhole covers and other issues.

Vialytics spokesperson Madeline Warshaw said the company, founded in 2018, partners with more than 500 municipalities in the United States, Germany and France. The data gathered by the smartphones allows municipal officials to see road conditions without having to be in the field, and the program’s analytics include a grading of how bad damage is on a road.

“This objective grading helps municipalities make informed decisions regarding repair schedules and resource allocation, ultimately saving time and costs compared to traditional inspection methods,” Warshaw said.