Chap. 599.—An ACT to amend and re-enact an act entitled an act to amend
and re-enact an act entitled an act to provide for the working and keeping
in repair the public roads in the counties of Alleghany, Bath, and High-
land, approved February 12, 1884, as amended by an act approved February
1, 1898, entitled an act to amend and re-enact an act to provide for the
working and keeping in repair the public roads in the counties of Alle-
ghany, Bath, and Highland.

Approved March 6, 1900.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That an act
entitled an act to amend and re-enact an act entitled an act to provide
for the working and keeping in repair public roads in the counties of
Alleghany, Bath, and Highland, approved February twelfth, eighteen
hundred and eighty-four, as amended by an act approved February
first, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, be amended and re-enacted
so as to read as follows:

§ 1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That. the
board of supervisors of the counties of Alleghany, Bath, and Highland,
shall have original jurisdiction to establish, alter, discontinue, and build
all public roads and bridges in their respective counties; and for this
purpose said board shall have all the powers now vested in the county
court, and the same proceedings shall be had therein as required in said
court, and all laws applicable to said court shall apply to said boards:
provided, that any one feeling himself aggrieved by an order of said
board establishing, discontinuing, or altering any road or bridge, may
appeal to the county court in the same manner that appeals are now
allowed from the decisions of the said board. The said boards of super-
visors in their respective counties aforesaid shall take charge of, and
have worked and kept in repair, all public roads and bridges heretofore
and hereafter established within the limits of said counties, respectively ;
and for this purpose said boards are respectively authorized and empow-
ered to levy a road tax not exceeding in any one year twenty cents upon
the one hundred dollars of assessed taxable values in said counties,
except the county of Alleghany, in which county the board of super-
visors shall have the power to levy a road tax not exceeding forty cents
on the one hundred dollars of assessed taxable values in said county of
Alleghany; and the board of supervisors of the said counties shall adopt
such regulations as may be necessary to secure the proper working
of the roads in said counties, and for that purpose said boards may pur-
chase such machinery and tools for the county as they may deem nec-
essary, and let the same to contractors under this act upon such terms
as they may think proper.

2. The boards of supervisors shall at their mecting next preceding
the June term of the county court, in the year nineteen hundred, and
every two years thereafter, appoint one commissioner of the roads for
each magisterial district in said counties, who shall qualify in the
county court of said counties by taking the usual oaths of office, and
shall continue as such until their successors are duly qualified. The
term of said commissioners of the roads shall be two years, and shall
commence the first day of July after their appointment. The said com-
missioners of roads shall have superv ision of all the roads and bridges
within their respective districts in said counties.

§ 3. The said commissioners of roads shall severally, annually, at the
July terms of the said county courts, let to contract to the lowest
suitable bidder the work of keeping in repair the roads and bridges in
their districts, notices of which letting shall be posted for ten days at
each post- -office and elsewhere in the district, the letting to be as a whole
or in sections, and for a term of not less than one nor more than five
years, at the discretion of the board of supervisors, and said term
to commence on the first day of August thereafter. They shall require
the bids to be in writing, signed by the contractor, and shall deliver
the same under seal to the board of supervisors for their examination
and approval or rejection at their first mecting thereafter. Each con-
tractor shall be required to execute a bond to the county, with good
security, in the penalty of at least double the amount of his bid for the
faithful performance of his contract, and a recovery may be had for anv
breach of said contract in the name of the county for the benefit of the
road fund in the county court by motion after ten days’ notice to the
contractor and his securities; and in case of recovery on said motion the

same costs shall be taxed in said judgment as if the motion were in
favor of the commonwealth, and any such judgment may be deducted by
said boards from the amount due said contractor on his contract. The
attorney for the commonwealth shall institute and prosecute such
motion. The contracts and bonds shall be filed with the clerk of the
board of supervisors.

§ 4. It shall be the duty of the commissioner of roads, immediately
after entering upon the duties of his oflice, to divide the roads and
bridges into sections convenient for letting to contract under this act.
and report the same to the first meeting “of the board of supervisors
thereafter, who may make such alterations in said sections as they mav
think proper, and after approving the same, shall enter it of record in
their minutes. Said commissioners of roads shall give personal super-
vision of all roads and bridges within their respective districts; thev
shall see that the contractors are faithfully performing their contracts,
and for any failure to carry out such contract the commissioner of roads
for the district shall at once institute, through the prosecuting attorney,
proceedings for the recovery of damages for the breach of said con-
tract, and it shall be the duty of each such commissioner of roads to

cause the roads in his district to be kept cleared, smoothed of rock

and obstructions, of necessary width, well drained and otherwise in good
order, and secure from the falling of dead timber therein. At the fork
or crossing of every road a sign- -board, on which shall be stated in plain
letters the most noted places ‘to which each road leads , and across each
stream, When it is necessary and practicable, a suflicient bridge, bench
or log, for the accommodation of foot passengers; and for every breach
of duty under any of the sections of this act he shall be guilty of a mis-
demeanor.

§ 5. The commissioners of roads shall receive as compensation not
exceeding two dollars a day while actually engaged, but in no case shall
his compensation exceed one hundred dollars per annum, to be paid
by the county.

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§ 6. Upon the failure of any contractor to carry out his contract the
said commissioner may, if in the judgment of the member of the board
of supervisors of his district it is proper so to do, give said contractor
notice of such failure; and if within a reasonable time the said con-
tractor shall not have faithfully complied with his said contract, then
the said commissioner, by and with the consent of the member of the
board for his district, may declare the contract at an end, and in such
event he shall so notify the contractor, and shall proceed to have the
provisions of said contract carried out, and the cost of so doing shall
be paid by the contractor, and shall be recoverable against him and his
sureties, on motion in the county court.

* 7 No member of the board of supervisors or commissioner of the
roads shall be directly or indirectly interested in any contract made
under this act, and any participation therein by either shall render the
contract null and void; and for any violation of the provisions of this
section, such member of the board or commissioner shall be guilty of
a misdemeanor.

§ 8. All levies made and collected under this act shall be collected and
accounted for by the county treasurer as other levies are, and shall be
paid out on the order of the board of supervisors.

§ 9. The board of supervisors shall have power at any time, for good
cause, to revoke the appointment of a commissioner of roads, and to
appoint his successor to fill his unexpired term; also to fix the com-
pensation of the commissioner of roads, and all other powers necessary
to be employed in carrying out the provisions of this act. For the
additional services required by this act the board of supervisors shall
receive two dollars per dav for the time actually employed in so doing.

§ 10. If the board of supervisors shall neglect or refuse to perform
any duty required of them by this act, the county court may, upon appli-
cation of any person interested, by mandamus compel said board to per-
form such duty.

§ 11. Such provisions of the general law of the state, as do not con-
flict with this act, shall continue in force in the counties named herein.

§ 12. All acts or parts of acts in conflict herewith are hereby re-

ealed.
P § 13. This act shall be in force from its passage.