Chap. 256.—An ACT providing for the opening, building and keeping in repair
the public roads and bridges of Caroline county. (H. B. 310.)

Approved March 25, 1914.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
an act entitled an act to amend and re-enact an act approved March
second, nineteen hundred and four, entitled an act to provide for the
opening, building and keeping in repair the public roads and bridges
of Caroline county, be amended and re-enacted so as to read: as
tollows:

Sec. 1. The management and control of all roads in the county
-of Caroline shall be placed under the direction of the board of
supervisors of the said county, who are hereby constituted a road
board for the purpose. sg

The board of supervisors are empowered and authorized to levy

‘annually a road tax of not exceeding thirty-five (35) cents on the
one hundred dollars valuation of all taxable property, which: to-
gether with such other moneys as may be derived from any road
tax upon telephone lines, railroads, et cetera, shall constitute a road
fund, of which fund at least one-half shall be expended annually
towards the permanent improvement of the main public roads of
said county. Permanent improvements shall be construed to mean
any macadam, gravel and sand-clay roads, or such improvement as
may be approved in advance by the State highway commissioner.

The said road board shall adopt economical, modern, progres-
sive and uniform standards for the construction and repair of roads:
shall carefully scrutinize all expenditures of road funds, and in
their discretion, shall require all persons who may use wagons, carts,
or other vehicles, in said county, to provide such wagons, carts or
other vehicles with tires of such width as they, the said board, may
prescribe, upon such conditions as they may prescribe, and may
prescribe such penalty for the failure of any person to comply with
said requirement or order as they may deem best.

No person shall drag any logs or log, over or along any public
road of said county without first having obtained the consent, in
writing, of the supervisor of the district, and any person convicted
thereof shall pay a fine of not less than two dollars and a half, nor
more than twenty-five dollars, which shall be turned into the road
fund of the district in which the offense was committed.

Said road board, or any member thereof, for his district, shall
have authority to forbid the public from travelling on any road,
or portion of road, while the same is being built, improved or re-
paired, and thereafter when such travel would, by weather condi-
tions, in the opinion of said road board, or any member thereof for
his district, greatly damage such road; to require adjacent property
holders to remove all trees which may fall from their land into the
road; to proceed, by warrant, against all parties plowing up, moving.
or otherwise encroaching upon or obstructing said road; or driving
vehicles unnecessarily into or along the ditches on the side of said
roads; to require drivers of wagons to accompany same while same
are in motion upon said public roads; and any party so convicted
shall be punished as for a misdemeanor and fined not less than five
nor more than twenty-five dollars.

It shall be the duty of such member of said road board of each
district of Caroline county to see that the roads in his district are
kept cleared, smoothed of rocks and other obstructions, of necessary
width; that the beds of the roads are raised in the middle and sloped
gradually each way to the sides, well drained, and secure from the
falling of dead timber thereon, and otherwise in good order; that
if needs be, a suitable sign board be placed and kept at every im-
portant fork or crossing, on which shall be stated in plain letters
the most noted place to which each road leads; that bridges be con-
structed and maintained in a safe, substantial condition, and that
ucross any stream or ravine where it may be necessary or practicable
a sufficient bridge, bench or log shall be made for the accommodation
of foot passengers, which shall always be kept in safe condition;
and where the bed of said roads are encroached upon, the member
of said board for such district shall notify the person trespassing
by written notice to remove the obstruction, and if the same be not
done in ten days, he shall cause said obstruction to be removed and
may recover the expense with costs from said trespasser before any
justice of the peace of said district.

The said road board shall have authority to direct a surveyor of
said county to define the boundary of any road therein; to alter the
grade of any existing road, and to perform such other service as may
be necessary to carry out the provisions of this act, for which ser-
vice the said surveyor shall receive reasonable compensation from the
said board not exceeding, however, two dollars per day, payable out
ef the road fund.

The said road board may adopt such methods of working and
repairing said roads as the said board shall deem best; they may
purchase or hire such teams, road machines, engines, implements,
tools, wagons, camp equipage and all other necessary articles for
the use of the employees working said roads; to hire such labor as
may be necessary and put the same to work for such time during
the year as they may deem best on any of the roads of said county,
under a foreman appointed by the members of said board for each
district, who shall be manager of the same, under the direction and
control of the member of said road board for his district.

All road taxes shall be expended in the district from which they
are collected; provided, however, that the construction and repair
of bridges shall be under the control and supervision of the board
of supervisors, and the cost of said construction and repair, and
the cost of equipment for working said roads shall be paid for out
of the county levy.

Each member of the said road board for his district shall keep
a strict and faithful record of his expenditures of said road fund
in his district, require itemized accounts for all expenditures, pay
all bills by warrants drawn on the county treasurer on said road
fund; and shall, annually, produce before the Commonwealth’s
attorney of said county, at the time the county treasurer settles his
accounts, the itemized bills for which they have drawn their war-
rants, and the said itemized bills shall be filed in the clerk’s office of
Caroline county along with the said warrants.

The clerk shall annually make off statements of the road accounts
for the respective districts, and have the same published along with
the annual statement of the settlement with the county treasurer.

The county treasurer shall keep the road fund separate from
cther tax funds, keeping an account with each district separately.

For all services rendered by said supervisors under this act they
shall each be entitled to receive as compensation a sum not exceed-
ing sixty dollars in any one year, except as members of the road
board of Caroline county there shall be allowed each member two
dollars per day for each day not exceeding one in any month spent
in inspecting the roads of their several districts; provided, they
make due report of the condition of said roads of said districts at
next meeting succeeding said inspection.

Any person, or persons, violating any of the provisions of this
act, concerning the roads and bridges in said county, may be pro-
ceeded against, as for a misdemeanor, by a warrant from a justice
of the peace of the district, and in which the offense occurred.

2. All acts and parts of acts in conflict herewith are hereby re-
pealed, so far as they affect Caroline county.