Chap. 300.--An ACT to provide for working and keeping in repair the
. public roads in Rockbridge county.

Approved March 4, 18384.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
after the first day of July, eighteen hundred and eighty-five,
the public roads and bridges in the county of Rockbridge,
shall be repaired and kept in order as follows: For each
magisterial district in the county, there is hereby established
a board consisting of the supervisor of the district, who shall
be chairman thereof, a road commissioner, and the commis-
sioner of the revenue of the district, who shall be treasurer and
clerk of the board. The said board shall be, and is hereby
declared to be a body politic and corporate under the name
and style of the board of road commissioners for the
magisterial district of the county of Rockbridge, and by such
name may sue and be sued. The road commissioner shall be
appointed by the judge of the county court as hereinafter
provided. The said board shall have control of all the roads
and bridves within the district, and the disbursing of all
taxes imposed, and money appropriated for keeping in order
and repairing the same.

2. On or before the first day of August, cighteen hundred
and cighty-five, and every three years thereafter, the board
of supervisors of the county shall declare to the road board
of each district, what roads in their district they require sball
be worked under the contract system.

3. On the fifteenth day of September, eighteen hundred
and eighty-five, and every three years thereafter, the road
commissioner and the clerk of the road board of each district,
shall let to contract, at public meeting, to the lowest. bidder,
who will give the required bond, for a term of three years,
all the roads in each district designated by the board of
supervisors as hereinbefore provided, not exceeding two miles
in one section. Of the time and place of which letting, they
shall give ten days’ notice by printed hand-bills posted in at
least ten places in the district. The specifications of such
contract shall be such as will effectually open new roads and
constantly keep in repair all public roads. Upon an order
from the board of supervisors at any time, it shall be the
duty of the road board of the district to have let to contract,
until the next general letting, in the manner provided for by
this act, any new road which the county court shall have

ordered to be made: provided, that the contract price in no
case exceed the estimate made by the road commissioner
and the clerk of the road board: and further provided, that
no member of the road board shall be in any way interested
in any contract provided for in this act, and any violation of
this provision shall render the contract ‘null and void.

4, [t shall be the duty of said road commissioner and clerk
of road board, within ‘thirty days preceding the day of public
letting, as directed by the preceding section of this act, and
within the same period ot time preceding the expiration of
each and every term of years thereafter, to lay out and divide
the public roads in their districts, designated to be let to con-
tract by the board of supervisors, into sections not exceeding
two miles in length, which they shall number and describe in
a book which shall be called the road book of ——— magris-
terial district. They shall also distinctly specify therein,
what they deem necessary for the improvement. and keeping
in good repair said public roads, with an estimate of the
amount of money which it will require to improve and keep
in repair, each and every section of said roads, for the term
of years designated in section three of this act. The road
book herein provided for, shall be returned to and preserved
by the road board, and shall be open to the inspection of any
citizen of the county.

5. Each contractor shall sign his name to a book, to be
kept for that purpose by the clerk of the road board, to a con-
tract embracing all the specifications in relation to the roads
contracted for by him, as provided for by the third section of
this act, as well as the contract price, the length of time con-
tracted for, and the number and description of sections con-
tracted for. All contractors shall give bond and security in
such sums as the board shall deem sufficient, in a penalty not
less than twenty-five dollars, nor more than double the con-
tract price.

6. If a contractor refuse or neglect to comply with the
law of his contract, upon complaint, the commissioner of
roads shall, as soon as practicable, examine the road or sec-
tion, and if the complaint is well founded, shall give imme-
diate notice in writing to the party to make or put his section
of road in repair according to law, or as the contract requires ;
and upon his failure to do so, the overseer shall proceed to
put the same in order, and the expense thereof, with costs of
suit, shall be recovered by the clerk of the road board in the
name of the board, from the contractor and his securities, as
other debts are recoverable.

7. When any contractor shall die or remove from his
magisterial district, and shall have fully complied with con-
ditions of his contract to the date of his death or removal,
the road commissioner and clerk of the road board may re-
lease the said contractor from his contracts, and shall let the
sections for the remainder of the term in the same way and
on the same conditions as at the first letting.
8. It shall be lawful for the board of supervisors to direct
the county clerk to have prepared and printed, for the use of
the road board of each district, blank forms of contracts and
notices of letting, and any other papers which it may be
neccessary to use to carry out the provisions of this act. The
expense of preparing and printing the same to be audited by
the board of supervisors, and paid out ot the general county
levy.

9. The contractors shall be paid quarterly by the clerk of
the road board upon certificates from the road commissioners
that their roads are in such condition as required by the terms
of their contract; said certiticate to have been given by the
road commissioner at the time of or after the next preceding
regular review of roads made by him as directed by section
twelve of this act. The beginning of the first quarter shall
be dated from the fifteenth day ot September of each year.

10. On or before the first day of September, eighteen hun-
dred and eighty-five, and every three years thereafter, the
road board of each district shall divide the district into road
precincts not exceeding four in number; and at the same
time, and annually thereafter, shall appoint one road overscer
for cach precinct, Whose term of office shall be tor one year
beginning on the fitteenth day of September succeeding his
appointment. He shall have charge of such roads or sections
of roads in his district as are not let to contract. He shall
qualify and give bond before entering upon the duties of his
office in the manner laid down for overseers in the general
road law. The overseers and the sureties on his official bond,
in addition to their liability. for any money that may come
into his hands, shall be liable for the taithful pertormance of
his duties as prescribed by law.

11. The duties of the road overseer shall be to see that the
roads in his precinct are kept in such condition as is: pre-
scribed by the general road law ; and he shall contract for all
labor, teams, tools, and implements necessary for working the
roads, under the direction and control of the board of road
commissioners ; he shall have custody of said tools and imple-
ments, and shall perform such other duties as may be pre-
scribed by law or directed by the road commissioners. The
board of road commissioners may. on five day’s notice, at any
time remove aroad overseer and appoint another in his place,
and all vacancies in the office of road overseer shall be filled
by the district road board. The road overseer shall receive
one dollar and fifty cents per diem for every day he is
actual employed.

n the year eighteen hundred and eighty-five, and
every two years thereafter, at the May term of the county
court, there shall be appointed by the judge of the court for
each magisterial district, one‘road commissioner, whose term
of office shall be for two years, beginning un the first day of
July next succeeding his appointment. He shall have gen-
eral supervision of all the roads and bridges in his district,
and the overseers in his district shall be under bis authority
and subject to his orders, in accordance with the regulations
of the road board. He shall examine all the roads in bis dis-
trict in the months of April, August and November, and see
that the roads and bridges are kept i in good repair by the
overseers and contractors. If he shall find any contractor
delinquent, he shall proceed as in the complaint provided for
in section six of this act; but if upon such examination he
shall find that such gontractor has executed his contract, he
shall give him a certificate to that cttect. The road commis-
sioner shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed
by law. It shall be lawful for the county court to remove
for cause any Commissioner of roads at any time after thirty
days’ notice, and to appoint another in his stead to fill) the
unexpired term. All vacancies in the office of road commis-
sioner shall be filled by the county court.

13. The clerk of the board of road commissioners shall
qualify and enter into bond, in a penalty of not less than
five hundred dollars, nor more than double the amount of
money that may pass through his bands in any one year,
before the county court, and with security to be approved
by the court betore the first day of July succeeding his
appointment. It shall be bis duty to keep all papers, Looks,
and records of the board, and to receive and pay out all the
moneys Which they may direct or the law may prescribe.
The clerk of the road board shall settle with the board of
road commissioners on the second Saturday of June of each
year, and account for all moneys rece:ved by him from the
treasurer of the county for road purposes.

14. Kach member of the board of road commissioners shall
receive one dollar and fitty cents for every day’s service on
the board, or in the performance of any other duty required
of him by law: provided that for his services on the board,
no member shall receive more than eight dollars in any one
year: and provided further, that the clerk shall, for all other
services performed by him during the year, receive not more
than forty dollars additional compensation : and the road
commissioner shall, for all other services performed by him
during the year, receive not more than thirty dollars, except
that for services rendered in superintending the changing
or opening of roads or building bridges under order of the
county court, he may receive such additional sum not execed-
ing one dollar and fifty cents a day, as the board of super-
visors may allow. All claims for compensation under this
section shall be audited by the board of supervisors, who
shall issue their warrants upon the county treasurer for the
sums allowed by them.

15. The board of road commissioners of each magisterial
district of Rockbridge county shall annually, on or betore the
fifteenth day of January of cach year, beginning January,
eighteen hundred and eighty -five, make an estimate of the
amount necessary to repair and keep in order the roads and
bridges in their respective districts for one year, under the
provisions of this law, and report the same to the board ot
supervisors.
16. It shall be the duty of the board of supervisors, upon
the coming in of the estimates of the boards of road com-
missioners, to levy a specific road tax, not exceeding seven
and one-half cents on every one hundred dollars of value of
property, real and personal, within each district. This tax
shall be assessed by the commissioners of the revenue, and
collected by the county treasurer as other taxes are assessed
and collected.

17. It shall be the duty of the board of supervisors, in
addition to the levy provided for in the next preceding see-
tion, to set apart and appropriate, for the purpose of working
the reads of the county, out of the general county revenues,
asum not excecding the amount realized from the county
levies and taxes other than those for school purposes, upon
the property of railroad corporations in the county.

18. The board of supervisors shall, on or before the tirst
day of September of each year, apportion the amount set
apart by them under the next preceding section, among the
different magisterial districts of the county, as may be in the
judyment of the board of supervisors just and right—having
reference to the population, property, mileage of roads, and
needs of each district.

19. Phe amounts realized from taxation in each district, as
provided in section sixteon of this act, as well as the amounts
apportioned to each district by the board of supervisors, shall
be paid to the clerk of the road board of cach district by the
county treasurer upon warrants issued by the board of road
commissioners.

20. The board of road commissioners of each district shall,
annually, on the second Saturday in June, audit, adjust and
settle the accounts of the treasurer for the next preceding
year. They shall charge the treasurer with the full amount
of road tax levied in the district, and the amount of money
apportioned to them by the board of supervisors, and shall
credit bim by his commissions delinquent, and all payments
made by him to the clerk of the road board upon the warrant
of the board, for which he has the proper receipt.

21. Kvery petition to alter, change or discontinue a public
road, to open a new road, or build a bridge, or establish a
ferry, must be first referred to the board of road commis-
sioners of the district to which the petitioners belong, who
shall endorse thereon their approval or disapproval of the
samo, and the reasons therefor. The petition shall then be
presented to the county court, and then proceeded with as
prescribed by the general statutes in such cases made and
provided: but the board of road commissioners may order
any change in a road which does not involve the condemna-
tion of land or payment of damages as when the land owner
consents.

22. When the location of any road is, or hereafter may be,
in a line dividing two magisterial districts, the road commis-
sioners of adjoining districts shall equitably divide the ex-
pense of said roads between such districts; or upon their
failure to agree, the county court shall divide the same and
direct what part of said road shall be kept in repair by each
magisterial district.

23. The cost of changing roads, open new roads, and build-
ing bridges, shall be borne by the respective districts in
which they are located; and when located partly in one dis-
trict and partly in another, the cost shall be apportioned
equitably between them by the board of supervisors; but if the
road to be changed or opened, or the bridge to be built, is of
such general importance as to make it proper that the cost
thereof, should be borne by the whole county, the board of
supervisors may so order. The board of supervisors shall be
authorized to make such additional levy upon any district or
districts, not exceeding five cents on the hundred dollars
worth of property, real and personal, in any year, as may be
required to defray the expenses incurred under this section.

24. It shall be lawful for the board of supervisors to adopt
such other reculations, not inconsistent with the provisions
of this act,as may be in their judgment necessary and proper
to effectuate the objects of this law, and to insure the success-
ful operation of the road system hereby provided for. It
shall be the duty of the road commissioners, the boards of
road commissioners and overseers of roads to conform to, and
carry out such regulations as may be prescribed by the board
of supervisors under the provisions of this act.

25. No persons shall hereafter be compelled to work upon
the public roads of Rockbridge county.

26. The general road law of this state, except so far as the
same is in conflict with this act, shall be in force in the
county, and nothing contained in this act shall be 80 con-
strued, as to interfere with existing contracts for the work-
ing of roads in said county.

27. All acts heretofore passed by the general assembly, in
reference to the county roads of Rockbridge, are hereby re-

ealed.

28. It shall be the duty of the officers conducting the elec-
tion in the county of Rockbridge, in the month ot November,
eighteen hundred ‘and eighty-four, to receive the ballots of
the qualified voters who shall vote upon this act, which bal-
lots shall be as follows: “For the road law,” and “against
the road law.” The ballots so cast shall be deemed and
taken as a vote for or against this act, and the manner of re-
ceiving and canvassing the ballots, and making returns
thereof, shall be in accordance with existing law, except that
the certificate of the judges shall be as follows:

We hereby certify, that at the election held on the
day of November, eighteen hundred and eighty-four,
votes were cast for the road law, and votes were cast
against the road law.

+ Signatures of the judges.

29. Should a majority of the votes thus cast be for the
road law, it shall be deemed the adoption thereof.
30. This act shall be in force from its passage.

- - &@