Chap. 277.—An ACT to provide for working and keeping in order
the public roads in the county of Page.

Approved February 27, 1886.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly. of Virginia, That
on and after the first day of April, eighteen hundred and
eighty-six, the board of supervisors of the county of Page,
shall take charge of and have worked and kept in repair all
public roads and bridges heretofore or hereafter established
within the limits of said county; and for this purpose the said
board of supervisors is authorized and empowered to levy a
road tax, not exceeding in any one year ten cents upon the one
hundred dollars of assessed taxable values in said county, to be
collected, accounted for, and paid out upon the warrant of said
board, in all respects as if it were a county levy fixed by the
board, except that the fund collected from each magisterial dis-
trict shall be kept separate by the county treasurer, and a dif-
ferent rate of tax may be prescribed for different districts. The
amount collected in each district shall be expended in that
district.

2. The said board of supervisors may adopt such regulations,
not in contravention of the laws and constitution of this state,
as may be necessary or proper to secure the needful and eff-
cient working of the roads tn said county.

3. The said board of supervisors shall, as soon as practica-
ble after the passage of this act, and annually thereafter, at such
time as it may elect, appoint a commissioner of roads for each
magisterial district in said county, who shall qualify at the next
term of the county court of said county, by taking the usual
oath of office. The term of said commissioners shall be one
year, commencing on the first day of May. |

4. The said commissioners of roads shall, annually, under
such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the board
of supervisors, let to contract to the lowest suitable bidder the
work of keeping in repair the roads and bridges in their respec-
tive districts. The bids shall be in writing, signed by the con-
tractor, and shall be delivered under seal to the board of super-
visors for examination, and approval or rejection.

5. Each contractor shall be required to give bond and good
security, in a penalty at least double the amount of his bid, for
the faithful performance of his contract; and a recovery may
be had for any 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 se-
curities. The attorney for the commonwealth shall institute
and prosecute such motion. The said contract and bonds shall
be filed with the clerk of the board of supervisors.

6. The contractors shall be entitled to the services, for not
more than two days in each year, of all persons liable to ser-
vice in working the public roads under existing laws; and for
every day on which there shall be a failure to work by any
person liable to road duty, eighty cents shall be paid as a fine
for such failure. The fine shall be paid to the contractor by
the person in default, if a person of free age, or, if he be a
minor, by his parent or guardian. If the money be not paid
within thirty days from the time of such failure, then the con-
tractor may make out a ticket, or an account in his own name,
against the person in default for eighty cents per day for each
days’ failure, adding ten per centum to said amount, which 1s
to go to the collecting officer into whose hands the account may
be placed for collection. Any collecting officer into whose
hands such account may be placed for collection, may collect
the same in the manner now provided by law for the collection
of state taxes. Any property liable for taxes shall be liable for
said road fines and commissions. The officer collecting the
same shall be liable under his official bond to the contractor for
said accounts so placed in his hands for collection, and may be
proceeded against for failing to collect and pay over the same
as now provided by law, as in the case of a constable’s failure.

7. No supervisor or commissioner of roads shall be, in any
way, directly or indirectly interested in any contract made un-
der this act; and any violation of this provision shall be a mis-
demeanor, and punishable as such.

8. It shall be the duty of the commissioner of roads, besides
the other duties hereinbefore described, to visit and inspect all
the roads in his district at least twice in each year, and oftener
if required by the board of supervisors, and to see that the
roads and bridges are in good repair and free from obstructions,
and that the contractors in his district are fulfilling the terms
of their contracts, and any failure of contractors to do their
duty shall be reported by him to the board of supervisors. The
compensation of the said commissioner of roads shall be two
dollars per diem for each day actually engaged, to be paid out
of the county treasury on the approval and warrant of the board
of supervisors; and it shall be his duty to present to said board
a sworn statement of the actual time employed by him in attend-
ing to the duties of his office at the regular meeting of said

oard.

g. It shall be the duty of each supervisor to keep himself in-
formed as to the condition of the public roads and bridges in
his magisterial district, and the manner in which they are
worked and kept in repair, and whether or not the contractors
of his district have fully complied with the terms of their con-
tracts; and for that purpose each supervisor shall inspect all
the said roads and bridges in his district at least once a year,
said inspection and examination to be made before the con-
tractors are paid; and if it shall be found that any contractor
has not fully complied with the terms of his contract, all the
facts in the case shall be reported to the board of supervisors,
and the pay of such contractor shall be withheld until the board
is fully satisfied that the terms of his contract have been com-
plied with. |

10. The supervisor of each magisterial district shall receive
compensation for his services under this act for the time he is
actually engaged, at the rate of two dollars per day.
11. The clerk of the board of supervisors shall receive for the.
duties to be performed by him under the provisions of this act,
such compensation as may be allowed by the said board, to be
apportioned among the magisterial districts by the said board.
And the compensation provided for supervisors under section
ten of this act, shall be paid each supervisor out of the fund
derived from his own district.

12. All public roads, except mountain roads, shall be thirty
feet wide, and all contractors shall be required to work the full
width. It shall also be specified in all contracts, except for
mountain roads, that 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 made and kept open.

13. No public road shall be located along a stream of water
in such manner as to render it, or any portion of it, liable to
damage or overflow by every ordinary rise of the stream; and
any public road in said county so located shall be changed if a
better location can possibly be secured.

14. If it shall be ascertained by the commissioner of roads,
or the supervisor of the district, that any public. road in their
district is not located according to the provisions of section
thirteen of this act, the fact shall forthwith be reported by either
of the said officers to the board of supervisors, giving the name
of the magisterial district, and the name or number, as the case
may be, of the sub-road district in which said road is located;
and also the names of the owners of the land lying along or
through which the said road passes; and if upon thorough inves-
tigation, it shall be ascertained by the board of supervisors that
the said road is not located according to law, then all the facts in
reference to the said road in possession of the board of super-
visors shall be reported, in writing, by the chairman of the said
board to the county court of said county at its next term ; and
the judge of the said court shall, during the said term, appoint
three disinterested and discreet freeholders, who shall not be
residents of the magisterial district in which the said road is
located, to change and locate said road so as to conform to the
provisions of section thireeen of this act, and also to assess an
and all damages that may result from changing the said road.

15. Notice of the time and place when and where the com-
missioners provided for in the preceding section shall meet,
shall be given by printed or written handbills, posted at some
public place in the vicinity of the said road, at least five days
before the time of meeting. The said commissioners shall, be-
fore they enter upon the discharge of their duties, be severally
sworn by any person authorized to administer oaths, to perform
their duties impartially and to the best of their judgment. In
changing and locating the said road they shall have respect for
the shortest distance and best ground, so as to do the least in-
jury to private property, and also, as far as practicable, to be
agreeable to the persons directly affected by the change. They
shaJl assess the damage done to land through which the said
road shall pass, taking into consideration the advantage to be
derived from the road passing through the land, and shall re-
port in writing to the next term of the county court; but in no
case shall any yard, garden, orchard, or any part thereof, be
taken without the consent of the owner, except in cases where
it is absolutely necessary for the public good, and to a compli-
ance with the provisions of section thirteen of this act, that said
road shall pass through an orchard.

16. If one or more citizens of said county, who are free-
holders, shall represent to the commissioners of roads, or the
supervisors of the district, that a public road in his district is
not of lawful width, and shall ask that it be made to conform to
law, the commissioner of roads, or the supervisor of the dis-
trict, shall measure the said road, and if found to be less than
thirty feet, the officer measuring said road shall report the fact
to the board of supervisors, the chairman of which shall report
the same, in writing, describing the said road, to the county
court of said county, at its next term, and the judge of said
court, during the said term, shall appoint three freeholders, who,
after being duly sworn, shall proceed to make said road of law-
ful width, and assess any and all damages resulting therefrom,
and report, in writing, to the next term of the county court ot
said county.

17. Any person feeling aggrieved by the action of commis-
sioners appointed under section fourteen of this act, may make
application, within thirty days, to the county court of said county
for the second appointment of commissioners, and the court
shall thereupon appoint three other commissioners, precisely
in the same manner, with. powers and duties similar in all re-
spects to those first appointed, and after being duly qualified
they shall proceed at once to discharge the duties for which
they were appointed, and if they fail to give satisfaction the
aggrieved person may, within thirty days, apply for the third
appointment of commissioners, and the court shall appoint as
before, but the action of the third commissioner shall be final,
and no further application shall be received by the court.

18. The county or other competent surveyor shall accompany
the commissioners provided for in sections fourteen and sixteen
of this act.

19. The sub-road districts shall remain as now laid out and
described by metes and bounds in the several magisterial dis-
tricts until changed according to law.

20. Such provisions of the general road law of the state as
do not conflict with this act, shall continue in force in the said
county of Page.

21. All acts and parts of acts in conflict with this act, are
hereby repealed: provided, that nothing herein contained shall
conflict with the laws now in existence providing for the work-
ing of roads and repairing of bridges in the county of Shenan-
doah.

22. This act shall be in force from its passage.