Chap. 555.—An ACT to amend and re-enact an act approved March 2, 18838,
chapter 357, acts 1887-’88, for making, changing and working roads in the
county of Rockingham.

Approved March 2, 1804.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That sec-
tions eleven, fourteen, fifteen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty and twenty-
one of an act to provide for the making, changing and working roads
in the county of Rockingham be amended and re-enacted so as to
read as follows:
$11. That the board of commissioners of roads for each magisterial]
district, at its annual meeting in July, shall assess and levy a tax
upon the property, real and personal, of the magisterial district as-
sessed for state revenue, an amount which shall be sufficient to pay
the expense for keeping all the public roads in its magisterial
district in good repair and of such width and condition as may be
required by law, and for all other purposes provided for in the act:
provided that the assessment on property shall not be more in any
one year than fifteen cents on the one hundred dollars, except the
same may be raised in the manner provided for in section twenty—
the assessment to be made upon the same basis as that upon which
state revenues are levied.

§ 14. That it shall be lawful for the board hereby constituted to
take charge of and have worked and kept in good repair all public
roads, bridges and ferries heretofore or hereafter established within
their respective districts as herein provided; that the said boards may,
at their discretion, let to contract to the lowest suitable bidder the work
of keeping in repair the roads, bridges and ferries in their respective
districts—said roads to be kept clear of falling timber and loose
rocks, to be raised in the centre and sloping to each side to ditches
of sufficient width and depth to carry off all surplus water. Where
practicable all such roads in each district as the boards shall decide
to let to contract on or before the first day of September, eighteen
hundred and ninety-five, shall be let for two years, by bids in writing,
signed by the contractors, naming satisfactory security, which shall
be delivered under seal to the board of each district, and which shall
be approved or rejected by said board respectively.

§ 15. That each commissioner of roads shall be required to divide
all public roads in his district into sections of from one to four
miles, and shall give ten days’ notice in writing, posted at three or
more public places in his district, previous to letting said roads to
contract, of all such sections which, in the judgment of the board,
it may be advisable to let to contract; and shall state in his notice
that he will on a certain day meet all persons desiring to bid at as
many as three suitable places in his district, remaining one day at
each place; the district board to open the sealed bids on or before
the first day of September, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, as pro-
vided in the preceding section. The contractor shall be required to
give bond and approved security in a penalty of double the amount
of his bid for the faithful performance of his contract, to be exe-
cuted to the district board, and recovery may be had for any breach of
said contract in the name of the district board for the benefit of the
road fund, in the county court, by motion, after ten days’ notice to
the contractor and his securities. ‘The attorney for the common-
wealth shall institute and prosecute such motion; said contract and
bonds shall be filed with the clerk of the county court.

§ 18. That each contractor shall be paid one-fourth part of his
bid, if his work has been approved by the board at the end of six
months from the first day of September, eighteen hundred and
ninety-five, and every six months thereafter, or earlier if the board
so orders; and no member of said road board shall be interested,
directly or indirectly, in any contract made under this act. Any
violation of this provision shall be a misdemeanor, and shall be
punished as such.

§ 19. That the road boards shall have power to purchase such road
machinery and tools as in their judgment may be necessary to work
to best advantage the roads not let to contract or where contracts
have been revoked; that they shall have power to employ com-
petent persons to operate said machinery, and may hire teams or
such other motive power as shall be deemed best and most economical
for operating said machinery; that it shall be the duty of the road
commissioners for each district to have general supervision of all the
roads in his district, to see that each contractor complies fully with
the requirements of his contract, and that all roads not let to con-
tract are properly worked, and for any failure to discharge his duties
as set forth in this act he shall be ‘guilty of a misdemeanor, and
upon conviction shall be fined not less than twenty nor more than
one hundred dollars for each offence.

§ 20. That the commissioner of roads from each magisterial dis-
trict shall meet at the court-house of the county with the board of
supervisors at a time in April, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, to
be fixed by the board of supervisors, and shall act with said board in
the consideration of the road question, and to make any change within
the limits of the law that they may deem best for making, chang-
ing and working the public roads of Rockingham county, and by a ma-
jority vote of all the supervisors and commissioners of roads present
may order the road levies of all the districts, ora part of the districts,
raised to an amount not to exceed twenty-five cents on the one hun-
dred dollars of assessed property, both real and personal, in any one
year; and should it be determined that the levy for any one year
should be raised over fifteen cents on the one hundred dollars of
assesed property, both real and personal, then there shall be not less
than ten cents nor more than fifteen cents of said levy on the one
hundred dollars of assessed property, both real and personal, of any
district used for the construction of leading roads, in such manner
as the board of supervisors and commissioners of roads by a ma-
jority shall determine. As soon as revenues are collected from such
levies, the work of constructing such leading roads shall begin and
be continued from year to year until such work shall cease by a ma-
jority vote of the supervisors and commissioners of roads of the
county. The leading roads shall be selected as much as possible, in
the different districts, by the respective boards of commissioners of
roads of each magisterial district, and the roads running east and
west shall be selected as much as possible, and also such as cross
the railroads at or near stations; but should any such roads be
partly in one district and partly in another, then each district board
shall make the part in their respective districts. Should a dispute
arise with the board or boards in the selection of one of these roads
in which several districts are interested, then the same shal] be set-
tled by a majority vote of all the supervisors and commissioners of
roads of the county. Ali money arising from such levies must be
used in the magisterial district from which it is collected. A ma-
jority of the supervisors and commissioners of roads of the county
may, from time to time, call meetings to consider these questions of
road improvement. All such meetings must be with open doors, and
by first giving not less than one week’s notice to the public, so any
one may have a hearing before that meeting who desires to be heard.
Each supervisor and commissioner of roads shall have two dollars
per day while in service in attending such meetings; other duties
imposed upon a member of the board of commissioners of roads
while on duty and in actual service upon these leading road im-
provements shall be paid for at the rate of one dollar and fifty cents
per day, and services herein rendered to be paid to the members
from their respective district road funds.

§ 21. That all acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act are
hereby repealed; but the general road law of this state, except so
far as the same is in conflict with this act, shall be in force in the
county of Rockingham. :

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