Chap. 263. An ACT to provide for the opening, altering, chang-

ing and working the public roads in the county of Rappahan-
nock. ;

Approved February 17, 1890.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia,
That hereafter the supervisors of the several magisterial
districts of Rappahannock county shall be ex-officio road
commissioners of their respective districts, with duties
and powers, and subject to the provisions hereinafter con-
tained.

2. That said commissioners shall have exclusive charge
and control of the public roads and bridges within their
‘respective districts, except as hereinafter provided.

3. That all taxes levied and collected for road purposes,
and for building and repairing bridges, shall be expended
on the roads and bridges in the district from which the
same may be collected. ‘

4. That the commissioners of roads for the respective
districts of the county of Rappahannock shall be known
as the commissioner of roads for magisterial
district, and by such name shall have the power to con-
tract and be contracted with, sue and be sued; but no
judgment against such commissioner shall bind him per-
sonally. It shall be paid by the treasurer out of the dis-
trict road fund.

5. That the term of office of said commissioner shall be
the same as that of supervisor. He shall qualify at the
pame time and in the same manner as the supervisors
qualify, and shall give bond, with security, in a penalty of
not less than five hundred nor more than two thousand
dollars, for the faithful performance of his duties as com-
missioner of roads. This qualification and bond shall be
independent of and in addition to his qualification and
bond given as supervisor: provided, that the supervisors
now in office in said county shall qualify and give bond as
road commissioners at the April term of the county court
of Rappahannock county, next succeeding the approval
and ratification of this act as hereinafter provided.

6. That it shall be the duty of said commissioner to see
that all roads in his district are of lawful width and clear
of- obstructions, and in all cases of obstruction to notify
the party offending, by written notice, and if the obstruc-
tion caused by said party be not removed after ten days’
notice, such commissioner shall cause the obstruction to
be removed and may recover the expense, with costs, from
the offender, upon a warrant, before a justice of the peace,
and the said justice may also, in his discretion, impose a
fine upon the offender, not exceeding ten dollars, which
fine shall go into the road fund.

7. That it shall be the duty of the commissioner of
roads, not less than thirty days preceding the day of the
firat letting as directed by a succeeding section of this
act, to lay out and divide the public roads of his district
into sections of not more than three miles in length, and
numbered from one up. Each section definitely defined,
with a brief description of the character of the same, shall
be entered in a bound book, which book shall be kert by
the commissioner open to the inspection of any citizen of
the county. He shall also make an estimate of the prob-
able amount necessary to put and keep each section in
good repair. This estimate shall not be entered into his
section book, but kept for the guidance of himself and the
board of supervisors.

8. That the several commissioners shall provide for
opening and keeping in good repair all public roads in
their respective districts, and to this end shall, between
the fifteenth and twentieth day of June next succeeding
the approval and ratification of this act, as hereinafter
provided, let to contract each section of road within his.
district, at public letting to the lowest bidder, for the
term of one year, reserving the right to the board of super-
visors, as hereinafter provided, to reject any and all bids.
between the fifteenth and twentieth of June next succeed-
ing the approval and ratification of this act, as hereinaf-
ter provided; and every three years thereafter, there shall
be another lettingof said roads, in same manner as above,
except that the letting shall be for three years. At every
regular letting of roads the commissioner may employ a
clerk to assist him for a period not exceeding five days at
a cost not exceeding two dollars per day, the same to be
paid out of the road fund, on the order of the commis-
sioner.

9. That of the time and place of letting, each commissoner
shall give ten days’ notice by printed hand- bills, posted
in at least three public places in each magisterial district.

10. That the specifications of work to be done upon each
section, and the condition in which the same is to be kept,
shall be such as, in the judgment of the commissioner, the
section will require, and shall] be written out and. made
known at the time of letting.

11. That among the specifications it shall be provided
that, when practicable, the bed of the road shall be raised
in the middle, and slope gradually each way to the sides,
where ditches sufficient to carry off the water shall be kept
open, and that the road-bed shall not be less than twelve feet
in width.

12. The commissioner shall report to the board of super-_
visors, at a meeting to be held by them between the twen-
tieth and twenty-fifth of June, succeeding any public let-
ting under this act, and as soon as may be after any private
letting, the sections let, the number of each section, to
whom let, and at what price; and if no reason appear to
the contrary, said board shall confirm said letting, and
said commissioner shall enter into a written contract with
the person to whom the road is let, which contract shall
be in accordance with the terms of letting, and in the
penalty of not less than twenty-five dollars, nor more than
double the contract price, and with security to be approved
by the board of supervisors.

13. The board of supervisors shall provide for each
road district a road contract book, containing blank bonds
or contracts in proper form, with printed specifications
and stipulations as may be agreed upon at the time of let-
ting of said roads. One of these bonds or contracts shall
be executed by the road commissioner and the contractor,
with his security, before the board of supervisors, at the
time of the approval by the said board of the letting of
any section of road to such contractor. Said bond orcon-
tract shall be kept in such book, shall be preserved in the
county clerk’s office, except at ‘such times as it may be
needed by the commissioner in any proceeding against a
contractor.

14. Between the tenth and fifteenth of June and Novem-
ber of each year, the commissioner shall pass over and
inspect every section of road in his district, and if any
road or section is not in good order, or has not been
worked according to contract, said commissioner shal] at
once notify the contractor of the fact, and if he does not,
within twenty days from the notice, put the section in
such repair as his contract calls for, then the commis-
sioner shall have said road worked according to the terms
of the contract, and the cost of such work, including two
dollars per day for such commissioner while attending to
the same, together with the costs of recovery, and an ad-
ditional sum of ten dollars per mile or portion thereof shall
be recoverable of the delinquent contractor on his bond by
the commissioner before a justice of the peace of the dis-
trict, without limit asto the amount, with the right of a
peal to the county court, if the amount recovered excee
twenty dollars. The amount recovered shall, except costs,
be paid to the treasurer of the county, to be by him credi-
ted to the road fund of the district.

15. But if upon such examination the commissioner
shall find that such contractor has executed his contract
and performed his duty, he shall, upon each viewing in
June and November, give him a warrant on the treasurer
of the county for one-half of the whole amount called for
in his contract, and the treasurer shall pay said warrant
out of the fund in his hands hereafter provided for.

16. That at any time three tax-payers from any district
may petition their road commissioner to view one or more
sections of road in their district, upon the ground that the
same is not worked according to contract. If said com-
missioner fail or refuse to view the section complained of,
or if his view be adverse to petitioners, upon motion, the
county court shal] appoint three disinterested viewers who
shall after being duly sworn, view the sections, and make
a report at the next term of the court. If their report be
against the road, the court shall order the commissioner to
proceed as directed by section fourteen of this act; but if
the report of the viewers be favorable to the road, the pe-
titioners shall pay costs of the commissioners and viewers,
which shall not be more than one dollar per day.

17. If any section remain unlet by reason of their being
no bid, or the amount offered be deemed excessive, or for
any other reason, the commissioner may let the same pri-
vately, and report to the board of supervisors, as provided
in section twelve of this act, and in case there be no let-
ting, the commissioner shall take charge of said road or
section and make or keep it in repair, and to this end may
employ hands, teams, and so forth, paying for same: the
customary price of the neighhorhood. He shall keep an
accurate and itemized account of such work, expense, and
so forth, and make oath to the same, and lay it before the
board of supervisors, which board shall inspect the same,
and if it is found correct, the board shall give said com-
missioner of roads a warrant on the treasurer of the
county for the amount thereof, to be paid out of the road
fund of the district.

18. That in case of a road dividing two magisterial dis-
tricts, the commissioners of roads of the districts so
divided, shall apportion said road between said districts
in such a way as will equitably divide the expense. If
they cannot agree the county court shall apportion the
same, and shal! direct what part of said road shall be
opened and kept in repair by each magisterial district.

19. That the commissioners of roads for each district
shall lay before the board of supervisors, at the meeting
of said board, when the county levy is made, his book of
road sections, hereinbefore provided for, and shall also
report to the board how much, in his judgment, will be
required to work and keep in repair the roads in his dis-
trict for the ensuing year: provided, that when the costs
of altering or changing a road or opening a new one be, in
the judgment of the supervisors, too burdensome to be paid
in one year, they may, in their discretion, cause the same
to be levied and paid in not exceeding three equal instal-
ments. |

20. That the said board of supervisors shall then cause
to be levied a road-tax for each district, not exceeding
twenty-five cents on the hundred dollars’ worth of real,
personal and mixed property within the district, taking
the state assessment as a basis.

21. That the treasurer of the county shall collect the
road tax herein directed to be levied as he collects state
and county taxes, and shall keep a separate account of
taxes collected from each district, giving each road dis-
trict credit for the amount collected from the same, and
shall then pay the same out as hereinafter provided.

22. That every petition for a new road, or to lay out,
open, alter or change a public road must first be presented
to the commissioner of public roads in the district in
which the road is, who shall endorse thereon his approval
or disapproval of the same, and his reasons therefor,
which petition with the commissioner’s endorsement shall
be laid before the county court at its next term in open
court, and the court shall appoint three discreet free-
holders to view the ground of any new road or proposed
change. The road commissioner, the county surveyor, or
other competent surveyor shall accompany the viewers,
and if necessary survey and map the rosd. The whole
number of viewers must view, but a majority may decide
for or against, and they may view and make report of,
and estimate for any modification of the route.

23. That notice of the time and place of meeting of the
viewers, shall be given by the viewers in some public
manner in the vicinity of the proposed road at least ten
days before the time of meeting. The viewers, before
they proceed to discharge their duties, shall be severally
sworn by the commissioner of roads or some other
person authorized to administer oaths, to perform the

5d
duties impartially and to the best of their judgment. If
they decide there is necessity for the road or change, they
shall lay out the same, having respect for the shortest dis-
tance and the best ground and so as to do least injury to
private property, and also as far as practicable to be
agreeable to the petitioners. They shall assess the dam-
age done to the land through which the road passes, tak-
ing into consideration the advantage to he derived from
the road passing through the land, and shall report in
writing to the next term of the court the probable amount
of damage, cost of construction, and such fact as will
enable the court to determine the propriety of opening
said road, although it may appear that no more than a
few or even one person will be benefited by opening of
any road, yet the court may in its discretion cause such
road to be opened, requiring such beneficiary and the
district in which the road may be, respectively, to pay
such part of the damages, expense of construction, cost
and repair, from time to time, as to the court may seem
right.

D4. That upon the return of the report of the viewers,
the owner, his guardian or committee, if within the
county, if not, the occupier of the land, upon which the
said road will be, if established, shall be summoned to
show cause against said report, and any proprietor or
tenant of lands on which said roads will be if established,
or the commissioner of roads, may enter himself a party
defendant to said petition, after which the same proceed-
ings shall be had as under the general road law of the
state. Thecourt may, at its discretion, grant a second or
third view.

25. The court shall examine the amount of damages
assessed and the probable expense of opening the road,
and if satisfied that the public interest will be subserved
by opening the road or the proposed change, shall approve
the report and order the damages to be paid by the road
districts through which the road may pass in such propor-
tion as the damages may have been assessed in the said
districts, respectively, and shall cause the clerk to deliver
a copy of the order establishing, changing or altering the
road to the commissioners of roads in whose district or dis-
tricts the road may be. The commissioner shall embrace
the amount of damages, costs, and expense, of opening or
changing the road and keeping it in repair, In his estimates
of necessary road tax to be laid before the board of super-
visors.

26. That if the court decides against the application to
alter, change, or open a road, it may require the costs to be
paid by the petitioner or by the district or districts as to
the court may seem just.
27. The viewers shall be paid two dollars per diem for
their services and the surveyor two dollars and fifty cents
per diem.

28. That the county court shall, at the time when any
new road is established, direct what width the road shall
be made, and shall have power to regulate the width of
roads, provided that the land condemned for any new road
shall not be less in width than thirty feet.

29. It shall be the duty of the attorney for the common-
wealth to represent the several road commissioners in all
matters affecting the public roads in the courts of record
in the county.

30. The county treasurer shall annually at the meeting
of the board of supervisors settle and adjust before said
court his accounts with the road fund of the several dis-
tricts. The eaid board shall charge him with the full amount
of the road tax levied in the district and all sums collected
from delinquent contractors, and shall credit him by his
commissions, delinquents, and all payment made by him,
for which he has the proper vouchers. He shall receive
the same per centum for collecting and disbursing road
taxes as for collecting state revenue.

31. The commissioner shall receive as compensation two
dollars per diem for the time actually employed in the dis-
charge of his duties: provided, that in no case shall he
receive over seventy-five dollars in any one year. He
shall at the December and July terms file before the
county court of the county a sworn statement of the time
of his actual employment upon the road matters of his
district, giving the number of days, date, and how em-
ployed, and if the account is approved the court shall cer-
tify the fact to the board of supervisors, who shall issue
a warrant on the county treasurer for the amount to the
parties thereto entitled, payable out of the district road

und. .
32. Nothing in this act shall be construed as conflicting
with section nine hundred and seventy-nine of the code
of Virginia, providing for compulsory labor for two days
on the public roads, except as therein exempted, such
compulsory labor shall be estimated and taken into ac-
oun in the letting of contracts as hereinbefore provided
or.

33. This act shall not supersede the general road law,
or take effect until after its approval and ratification by
& majority of the board of supervisors of Rappahannock
county, together with the approval of the judge of the
county court of said county.