Chap. 168.—An ACT to provide for creating, working, and maintaining public
roads in Fairfax county, and defining the boundaries of same.

Approved March 14, 1904.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That the im-
provement, maintenance, construction and all other administrative con-
trol of all the roads in Fairfax county are hereby vested in a county road
board of seven members, consisting of the county surveyor as member
and ex-officio chairman, ‘and of the six road commissioners hereinafter
mamed and provided. The county road board shall be a body politic and
corporate, and may sue and be sued. The word road as herein used shall
be held to include all public roads, thoroughfares, turnpikes, highways,
and the bridges thereon.
2. Each of the six magisterial districts of Fairfax county, exclusive of
organized incorporated towns, shall constitute a road district, and shall
have a road commissioner, who shall be a freeholder and registered. voter,
residing within the geographical limits of such district. Each road com-
missioner shall be appointed by the circuit court, or the judge thereof
in vacation, on satisfactory nominations of the county surveyor, shall
qualify before the clerk thereof, and shall hold office for a term of three
years, or an unexpired portion thereof, or until his successor qualifies,
but it is now provided that D. S. Beach, from Lee magisterial district ;
R. L. Harrison, from Dranesville magisterial district; R. H. Shepherd,
from Mount Vernon magisterial district; Henry M. Byrne, from Falls
Church magisterial district; E. M. Pitman, from Centreville magisterial
district, and D. B. Elgin, from Providence magisterial district, hereto-
fore appointed and qualifying as road commissioners from said magis-
terial districts, pursuant to the provisions of section three, of the act
approved May twentieth, nineteen hundred and three, entitled “an act
to amend and re-enact chapter seventy-three of the acts of the general
assembly of Virginia, approved April twenty-eighth, eighteen hundred
and eighty-seven, entitled an act to amend an act for working the public
roads of Fairfax county, as amended by acts approved February seven-
teenth, eighteen hundred and ninety, February twenty-second, eighteen
hundred and ninety, February twentieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-
six, February second, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, and January
twenty-fourth, nineteen hundred, are recognized and are now confirmed
as such and shall and do now constitute the first six road commissioners
under this act, to serve as follows: E. M. Pitman and R. H. Shepherd
till the first day of January, nineteen hundred and five; E. B. Elgin and
Henry M. Byrne till the first day of January, nineteen hundred and six,
and R. L. Harrison and D. 8. Beach till the first day of January, nine-
teen hundred and seven. ~

3. The clerk of the county, or his deputy, shall act as clerk of the
county road board, and shall preserve in his office records of all proceed-
ings, including all expenditures authorized, and plats of all roads as they
may from time to time be defined, and shall receive therefor such com-
pensation as may be fixed by the said county road board.

4, The county treasurer shall disburse all road funds on the warrant of
the ex-officio chairman of the county road board, when such chairman is
properly bonded, and for collecting and disbursing shall receive such
compensation as shall be fixed by the board of supervisors. He shall at
stated: periods advise the county road board of the condition of the road
fund. No warrant shall, without the written authority of the board of
supervisors, be drawn in excess of available road funds.

5. The county road board shall hold an annual meeting in January of
each year, and such other regular and special meetings as may be neces-
sary. It shall at least once each year recommend to the board of super-
visors levies for road. purposes. It shall classify the roads of the county,
adopt economical, progressive, and uniform standards for the construction
and maintenance of each class, authorize and scrutinize expenditures of
the road funds, make special inspections of the roads, and at least once a

37
year examine the accounts*of its chairman, with his vouchers, and audit
the same. These accounts shall then be certified to the board of super-
visors, who shall again audit, and then publish in full in a county news-
paper.

6. The chairman of the county road board shall preside at ils meetings,
call special meetings when necessary, prepare plans, estimates, and speci-
fications, make frequent inspections of all the roads and of all work being
done, do all the surveying and engineering necessary for road work, in-
cluding surveying of proposed roads, and perform such other duties in
connection with the roads as the county road board may direct. He shall
receive therefor such compensation, not less than nine hundred dollars
per annum, as may be fixed by the board of supervisors. He shall, at the
expense of the county, give bond before the circuit court for the faithful
performance of his duties in such sum as may be fixed by the board of
supervisors. But it is now provided that the bond for fifteen thousand
dollars, given by Joseph Berry, county surveyor, together with the Fidel-
ity and Deposit Company of Maryland, before the circuit court of Fairfax
county, on June fifth, nineteen hundred and three, pursuant to section
seven of the said acl approved May twentieth, nineteen hundred and
three, is now affirmed, and during the period for which said bond was
given, is now recognized as a sufficient compliance with the requirements
of this section.

%. Each road commissioner shall, under the direction of the county
road board, and of its chairman, have charge of the roads in his district.
He shall make frequent inspections of the roads and of the work being
done. He shall receive therefor, and for his duties as a member of the
county road board, such compensation, not less than two dollars per day
when actually employed, as may be fixed by the board of supervisors, for
not to exceed: one hundred days in each year.

8. As far as practicable all road work shall be let by contract by the
county road board after a public opening of sealed proposals, invited by
public notice; and all works shall be carefully inspected by the chairman
or by the commissioner of the district affected.

9. As far as possible all road work shall be done between the first of
March and the first of September of each year, and at least one-half of
the work shall be for permanent improvement, as distinguished from
temporary repairs.

10. New roads in the districts herein created may be opened, and
existing roads may ‘be closed, widened,. changed or defined by order of
the circuit court for Fairfax county, as provided by general road law,
except when the same is in conflict with this act. All applications in
reference to roads shall be referred to the county surveyor and two mem-
bers of the road board, to be selected by said county surveyor, in the
place and stead of viewers under section nine hundred and forty-five
of the Code of eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, who shall report to
the court as provided by sections nine hundred and forty-seven and nine
hundred and forty-eight of said Code, and the proceedings on said re-
port shall be as provided by sections nine hundred and forty-nine, nine
hundred and fifty, nine hundred and fifty-one, nine hundred and fifty-
three, nine hundred and fifty-four, and nine hundred and fifty-five.
When the court decides in favor of establishing or altering any road or
landing, before ordering. the road or alteration, or making any order
involving the expenditure of any money by the said road board for the
county, it shall finally determine the amount of expenditure to be made,
and by its order set forth the same in detail and certify the same and all
papers to the said road board. The said road board shall determine by a
recorded vote whether or not the expenditure shall be made by it, and
unless a majority of the members present shall vote in favor of the same,
the expenditure shall not be made. So soon as the board has acted
it shall cause its action to be certified to the court, and if a majority of
the members present are in favor of the expenditure the court shall
direct the said road board to proceed with the work, otherwise the court
shall not direct the work to be done. No reference in the matter shall
be made to the board of supervisors. No new road shall be opened less
than thirty feet wide. All road cases now pending in the circuit court
of Fairfax county in which no order has been made directing the ex-
penditure of road money for the cost of opening, land damages, or costs,
shall, before any such order is made involving the expenditure of any of
the road fund, be referred by said court to the road board in accord-
ance with the provisions of this section for determination of said board
whether the expenditure shall be made.

11. The said road board is hereby authorized to ascertain the
boundaries of any public road in said county, to have made a diagram or
plat of said road, and to erect suitable monuments to define the same.
That after three years from the date of the erection of such monument
provided for in this section the boundaries of any such road shall not be
brought in question in any proceedings, and at the expiration of such
period the said road board shall have a diagram or plat of such road
recordéd in a book to be kept for that purpose. Whenever there is any
controversy or uncertainty as to the existence or as to the limits or
boundaries of any public road in Fairfax county, or amy part thereof,
the circuit court of said county shall have jurisdiction upon a bill filed
by the county road board of said county as complainants against one or
all or any intermediate number of the land owners whose interests may
be involved or affected as defendants, to hear and settle any and all
questions relating to the existence and limits and boundaries of such
road, and to determine whether the same is in fact a public road, and
what are the true limits and boundaries thereof, in whole or in part,
and its decree shall bind those who are privies or parties to the proceed-
ings. In any such case, when it is determined that a public road exists and
what are the limits and boundaries thereof as aforesaid, the court shall
direct that a diagram or plat showing the same be recorded in a book
to be kept for that purpose, and the said road board shall cause the said
limits and boundaries to be marked by suitable monuments.

12. The board of supervisors shall levy annually a district road tax
of not less than twenty cents on the one hundred dollars’ valuation of all
taxable property, which when collected, the county treasurer, upon the
warrant of the ex-officio chairman of the county road board, shall dis-
burse as hereinbefore provided. The road fund of each district shall
be kept separate and shall be applied exclusively in such district: pro-
vided, that each annual district fund in the proportion that it bears to
the total annual road fund of the county and districts may be drawn
upon for the expenses of the county road board, for the purchase of
utensils for use in all of the districts, or for any expenditure, the benefits
of which are shared by all the districts: and provided, further, that the
road fund in any district may, in such proportion as may be fixed by the
county road board, be drawn upon for its proportionate share of ex-
penditure made jointly with an adjacent district.

13. The board of supervisors, after settling road accounts now out-
standing, shall allot to the county road board, and have placed to the
credit of its ex-officio chairman with the county treasurer, such portion
of the county levy as can be spared for road purposes ; and also now and
each year hereafter at least one-fourth of the general county levy shall
be so allotted, and when collected so credited for road purposes, and in
addition, now and each year hereafter, such further amount from the
said county levy as the board of supervisors, in its discretion, orders, can
reasonably be spared from the balance to the credit of said county levy
after the annual settlement with the county treasurer.

14. The commissioner of any district may take from any convenient
land so much wood, stone, gravel, or earth as may be necessary to be
used in the construction or repairing of any road, bridge or causeway
therein, and may for the purpose of draining the road cause a ditch to
be cut through any lands adjoining the same: provided, such wood and
other articles be not taken from, and such ditch be not cut through, any
lot in a town; yard, or garden without the consent of the owner.

25. If the owner or tenant of any such lands shall think himself in-
jured thereby, a justice, upon application, shall issue a warrant to three
freeholders, requiring them to view the said land amd ascertain what
is a just compensation to such owner or tenant for the damage to him
by reason of anything done under the preceding section. The said free-
holders, after being sworn, shall accordingly ascertain such compensa-
tion and report the same, with the costs, to the county road board for
payment. But if either the land owner or the road board are dissatisfied
with the said award they can have all papers filed with the clerk of the
circuit court, who shall docket the same, and thereupon either party
can file exceptions to said award, and for good cause shown the court
can set the same aside and refer the matter to three other disinterested
freeholders, who shall ascertain such compensation and report the same
to the court, such report to be proceeded with in the same manner as
before, and the amount finally determined upon shall be paid by the
treasurer out of the road fund in his hands.

16. The offices of road superintendent, or road surveyor, or road over-
seer, and of road commissioners, except as herein provided and specified,
are, for Fairfax county, hereby abolished. All records, books, utensils,
and other road property shall be promptly turned over to the county sur-
veyor. The county treasurer shall settle any outstanding road fund ac-
counts in each district and place any balance due by same to the credit
of the corresponding road district herein created.
17. All acts or portions of acts inconsistent with or rendered unneces-
sary by this act are hereby repealed.
18. This act is an emergency act, and takes effect from its passage.