Chap. 319.—An ACT to amend and re-enact an act entitled: An act to amend
and re-enact an act to provide for creating, working and maintaining public
roads in Fairfax county and defining the boundaries of the same, approved
March 14, 1904, approved March 8, 1906

Approved March 14, 1908.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That an act
entitled an act to amend and re-enact an act to provide for creating,
working, and maintaining public roads in Fairfax county and defining
the boundaries of the same, approved March fourteenth, nincteen hun-
dred and four, approved March eighth, nineteen hundred and six, be.
i the same is hereby, amended and re-enacted so as to read as fol-
ows:

Each of the six magisterial districts in the county of Fairfax shall
constitute a separate road district and- the improvement, maintenance,
construction and all other administrative control of all public roads and
highways in each district shall be vested in a district road board thereof
hereinafter provided for.

2. The district road board in each of the six magisterial districts
of the county of Fairfax shall consist of the supervisor thereof, who
shall be ex-officio chairman of the said district road board, and two road
commissioners, one of whom shall be selected by the said district road
board as clerk thereof.

3. Each road commissioner shall be elected by the qualified voters of
his magisterial district, including the qualified voters of all incorporated
towns therein, for the term of two years at the same time as member
of the house of delegates; shall qualify before the clerk of the circuit
court of Fairfax county on or before the first day of January next suc-
ceeding his election and shall, at the time of his qualification, give bond,
with approved security, in the penalty of not less than one thousand
dollars and conditioned as the law directs; shall assume the duties of his
office on the first day of January next succeeding his election, at which
time his term. of office shall begin; and shall continue in office for the
term of two years and thereafter until his successor is elected and
qualifies; but it is hereby provided that John H. Waple, of Dranesville
magisterial district; Robert L. Spindle, of Centreville magisterial dis-
trict; C. Norman Stewart, of Lee magisterial district; and James
Bowling, of Mount Vernon magisterial district; who have been duly
elected and have qualified as road commissioners, shall be and are
hereby confirmed as road commissioners in their respective districts
aforesaid and shall continue in office as such until and including the
thirty-first day of December, nineteen hundred and nine; and that D. B.
Elgin, of Providence magisterial district, and George W. Bladen, of
Falls Church magisterial district, who have heretofore been appointed
as road commissioners, shall be and are hereby confirmed as road com-
missioners in their respective districts and shall continue as such until
their respective successors are elected or appointed by the board of super-
visors as hereinafter provided and qualify. Within sixty days after the
passage and approval of this act, the board of supervisors of the county
of Fairfax shall elect two road commissioners each for Providence and
Falls Church magisterial districts and one road commissioner each
for Dranesville, Lee, Centreville and Mount Vernon magisterial dis-
tricts, which said road commissioners, so elected or appointed by the
board of supervisors, shall, within thirty days after their appointment
or election, qualify before the clerk of the circuit court of Fairfax
county, giving bond as hereinbefore provided, and shall continue in
office until and including the thirty-first day of December, nineteen
hundred and eight. At the regular election to be held in November,
nineteen hundred and eight, the qualified voters of the respective magis-
terial districts aforesaid, including the qualified voters of all incor-
porated towns therein, shall each elect the following number of road com-
missioners, to-wit: Providence, two; Falls Church, two; Lee, one;
Dranesville, one; Centreville, one; and Mount Vernon, one; which
said road commisisoners shall qualify before the clerk of the circuit
court of Fairfax county on or before the first day of January, nineteen
hundred and nine, giving bond as hereinbefore provided, and continue
in office from the first day of January, nineteen hundred and nine,
until the thirty-first day of December, nineteen hundred and nine. Fach
road commissioner shall reside in and be a qualified voter of the magis-
terial district for which he is elected or appointed or of an incorporated
town therein.

4. The three members of the district road board in each magisterial
district shall together serve not more than one hundred days in anv
one year and each member thereof shall, unless the district road board
shall unanimously agree to divide the time differently, serve at least
one-third of said time, not exceeding thirty-three and one-third days,
and shall receive such compensation as the board of supervisors may
allow, not to exceed two dollars per day, and the ex-officio chairman of
each district road board shall receive the aforesaid compensation in
addition to such allowances as are allowed by law to him as supervisor
but he shall not be allowed compensation in both capacities on the same
day.

5. Each district road board shall carefully examine all public roads
and bridges in their district as soon as practicable after their qualifica-
tion and the beginning of their term of office, classify all public roads
in their district, adopt economical, progressive and uniform standards
for the construction, repair and maintenance of each class, authorize and
carefully scrutinize all expenditures of road funds, make frequent in-
spections of all public roads and of the work being done thereon and,
if they deem it best for the more convenient working of the same, lay
off and divide the public roads into sections of from one mile to five
miles, no single section to be more than five miles in length.

6. Any district road board may, in its discretion, let to contract by the
year for a term of from one year to three years any or all sections of its
roads to the lowest suitable bidder, after having first advertised for
sealed bids, stating clearly in the advertisement the work to be done on
said sections of road and bridges thereof, in addition to what is specified
and required in section twenty-six of the general road law, notice of
which letting to contract shall be posted for not less than ten days at
three or more conspicuous public places in the district and vicinity of
the work to be done. The bids shall be in writing and signed by the
contractor and the same shall be delivered under seal to the said road
board for examination and acceptance or rejection and, at their next
meeting thereafter, each contractor shall be required to execute a hond
to the county, with good security and in the penalty of at least double
the amount of his bid, conditioned 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 of said dis-
trict, in the circuit court of Fairfax county by motion after a notice of
ten days to the contractor and his securities and, in case of recovery on
the said motion, the same shall be taxed in the judgment as if the
motion were in favor of the Commonwealth. The attorney for the
Commonwealth shall institute and prosecute such motion and any
such judgment shall be deducted by said district road hoard from anv
amount that may be due said contractor on his contract or else en-
forced as other judgments are. The said contract and bond shall be-
filed with the clerk of said district road board. The district road board
may, in its discretion, reject any and all bids and, if it be deemed ad-
visable, may have all of its public roads or any portion thereof worked
as hereinafter provided.

%. Should there be any section or sections of road upon which there
is no sealed bid or should all sealed bids be rejected, the road board may,
after advertising as hereinbefore directed, receive proposals to contracts
for such section or sections without requiring said proposals to be
sealed but such proposals not under seal shall be subject to the same
requirements in contracting as sealed bids.

8. If any section or sections of road remain unlet by reason of there
being no bid or for any other reason or if, in the first instance, the
district road board deem it advisable not to have any section or sections
of road worked by contract, the said district road board shall appoint
a road overseer for each section of road not let out to contract, but
no one shall be appointed a road overseer except upon the written appli-
cation of at least five freeholders living in the immediate vicinity of
the section of road to be worked nor shall any road overseer be given
more than five miles of road to work unless the district road board cer-
tifies on its records that it is impossible to secure an overseer for such
section of the road. If no applicant can secure the indorsement of five
freeholders, then the road board shall appoint the applicant who has
the largest indorsement. The said board shall fix the compensation of
all road overseers.

9. Each district road board shall hold stated meetings, at which time
it shall order warrants drawn on the county treasurer for work done.
materials furnished, et cetera, appoint road overseers, let out road work
to contract and attend to such other matters as may properly come before
it; but no member of said board shall receive compensation for attend-
ance at more than ten meetings in any one vear. The said board may
assign to any one of its members the dutv of inspecting any section or
sections of road in its district and any work done thereon. All road
warrants shall be signed by the chairman and clerk of the district road
board and no road warrant shall be paid unless so signed.

10. The county treasurer shall keep a separate account of the road
funds of each magisterial district and shall disburse same on warrants
drawn by the respective district road boards and signed by the chairman
and clerk thereof.
11. Each district road board shall, at least once each year, audit its
accounts with the county treasurer and make a full itemized report thereof
and said report, with the accompanying accounts and vouchers, shall be
certified to the board of supervisors who shall again audit the same and
who shall, unless they deem it inadvisable, publish the said report in full
in the county newspaper. Any citizen of the district may appear and
challenge any item in the said report or may, within thirty days after
its filing with the board of supervisors or publication thereof, except
to either the form or accuracy or sufficiency of the said report or any
item thereof. The board of supervisors shall, with the assistance of the
attorney for the Commonwealth, proceed in a summary manner to ex-
amine the said report and the accompanying accounts and vouchers and
each item thereof and, if fraud appear therein, the matter shall be brought.
to the atention of the next grand jury. The board of supervisors shall
have power to require a complete, formal and accurate report of all
road accounts of each district and to compel full explanation of any
and all items therein. If, at the expiration of thirty days after publica-
tion of said report, the said report appear sufficient and proper in all
respects, the board of supervisors shall confirm the same.

12. Any district road board may, either alone or in conjunction with
the road boards of other districts in Fairfax county, hire or purchase
and maintain in good order such implements, machinery and horses or
mules as may be considered necessary to construct and maintain eco-
nomically its roads and may employ such labor and make such contracts
as may be deemed advisable for the protection and maintenance of the
same. Any district road board shall have power, either alone or con-
jointly with any other district road board or boards, to contract for and
procure from the State convicts and jail prisoners and to work the same
upon the public roads, under such provisions and regulations as mav
seem to it best. Each district road board shall also have power to erect
and maintain such sign boards and mile posts as may be deemed advis-
able or as the law may require.

13. No road commissioner or supervisor shall be interested, either
directly or indirectly, in any road or bridge contract nor shall either
work anv portion of the roads in or under his charge.

14. All work on the public. roads and highways, except in cases of
emergency, shall be done on or before the first day of October in each:
year.

15. The board of supervisors shall each vear allot to the several dis-
trict road boards so much of the county levy as can be spared for road
purposes, the said allotment to be made to each district in the same pro-
portion as such district paid same in taxes, and no allotment made as
aforesaid and no district road tax shall be expended in anv other dis-
drict than in the district which paid the same.

16. Each district road board shall each vear sect apart at least one-
fourth of its total road funds for permanent road improvement and, if the
amount in any one year be too small to be used for permanent road im-
provement, then the-same shall be retained and carried forward for the
next year and shall be used for making permanent or macadamized
roads.
17. New roads may be opened and existing roads may be closed,
widened, changed or defined in the several magisterial or road districts
as provided by the general road law of this State except that whenever
the word “superintendent” is used therein, the words “district road
board” shall be substituted therefor.

18. The board of supervisors shall have charge of the construction and
repair of all bridges in the county of Fairfax whenever the outlay therefor
shall be as much as one hundred dollars and also whenever the bridge
is between the county of Fairfax and an-adjoining county. In all other
cases, the district road board shall have entire charge and control of the
construction and repair of all bridges.

19. The circuit court of Fairfax county shall have power to remove,
for good and sufficient cause, any district road commissioner or other
officer elected or appointed under this act and the board of supervisors
shall have power to fill all vacancies, however occasioned.

20. In all cases of disagreement between the road boards of adjacent
districts on account of the construction and keeping in repair. of roads
and bridges between the said districts, the board of supervisors shall
decide in all cases but, in the event that the board of supervisors be equally
divided on such question, the same shall be submitted to and decided
by the judge of the circuit court of Fairfax county during term time.

21. The general road law of the State, in so far as the same is not
in conflict with the provisions of this act, shall be in force in the county
of Fairfax, except that, whenever the word “superintendent” is used
therein, the words “district road board” shall be substituted therefor, in
so far as the same concerns the county of Fairfax.

22. All acts or portions of acts inconsistent with or rendered unneces-
sary by this act are hereby expressly repealed, in so far as they concern
the county of Fairfax.

23. An emergency existing on acount of the need of immediate work
upon and repair of the roads of the county of Fairfax, this act is hereby
declared an emergency act and shall be in force from its passage.