Chap. 35.—An ACT to amend and re-enact, so far as the county of Powhatan
is concerned, an act of the general assembly of Virginia, entitled an act
to provide for working of roads in the counties of Chesterfield, Powhatan

and Goochland, approved March 3, 1884, as amended by an act approved
March 19, 1914. (S. B. 46)

Approved February 10, 1915.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That an act
entitled an act to amend and re-enact, so far as the county of Powhatan
is concerned, an act of the general assembly of Virginia entitled an act
to provide for working of roads in the counties of Chesterfield, Powhatan
and Goochland, approved March the third, eighteen hundred and eighty-
four, as amended by an act approved March nineteenth, nineteen hundred
and fourteen, be and the same is hereby amended so as to read as follows:

For the purposs of working and repairing and keeping in order the
public roads and bridges of Powhatan county and for the supervision and
control of same, there shall be, and is, hereby created for each of the
three magisterial districts of said county, a board of road commissioners,
to be composed of the supervisors of such district, who shall be the
chairman and two residents, who shall be qualified voters of the district,
to be known as the district road board.

2. At the February term, nineteen hundred and fourteen, or there-
after in vacation, the judge of the circuit court of said county shall
appoint two residents as commissioners of roads for each magisterial
district, who shall be selected as far as practicable from different sections
of said district, and who shall be qualified voters in the districts for
which they are appointed and whose terms of office shall be for one and
two years, respectively. And annually thereafter the judge of the cir-
cuit court for said county shall appoint one commissioner for each
magisterial district whose term of office shall be for a period of two
years. ‘These persons shall qualify as such road commissioners by ap-
pearing before the clerk of the circuit court of Powhatan county and tak-
ing and subscribing the oaths of office prescribed by law and by executing
a bond in the sum of five hundred dollars.

3. The said two commissioners so appointed and qualified for any
magisterial district of said county, together with the supervisor of such
district shall constitute the district road board for such district.

4. The said district road commissioners shall examine all roads
and bridges in their district at least twice each year, before the first
Monday in April and September and report fully in writing to the county
road board the condition of all roads and bridges in their district. It
shall be their duty to have the roads in their district worked and kept
in repair, and so far as practicable, all roads shall be so worked as to be
raised or high in the centre and sloped each side to ditches of sufficient
width and depth to carry off all surplus water. ‘They shall see that all
causeways, culverts and bridges are kept in safe condition and shall have
repaired the same when necessary, and across each stream where it is
needed and practicable a sufficient bridge, bench or log shall be placed for
the accommodation of foot travelers, and at the intersection of all public
roads they shall have erected proper signs for the guidance of travelers.
They shall see that all roads in their district are of proper width and
kept smooth and free and clear of holes, gullies, falling timber and other
obstructions, and in places where they are not of proper width, or where
obstructions have been placed thereon, or where the ditches draining said
road have been obstructed by filling in stone, timber or other material,
the said commissioners shall give notice in writing to the person or
persons obstructing said roads or ditches requiring him or them to
remove the obstructions, and if the obstructions are not removed within
ten days after the giving of the said notice, said commissioners shall
cause the same to be removed, or where the emergency demands the im-
mediate removal of any obstruction, it shall be the duty of the said
commissioners to have said obstructions promptly removed without giving
such notice, and the said district road board may recover the expenses
incident thereto, together with the costs from the person or persons ob-
structing said roads or ditches by judgment of a justice of the peace, and
any money so recovered shall be turned into the district road fund; and
in addition thereto any person or persons wilfully obstructing said roads
or ditches or refusing to remove the same therefrom upon said notice
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and liable to a fine of not
less than five nor more than fifty dollars.

5. All work and repairs not of a permanent character made upon
said roads and bridges shall be done under the supervision of the dis-
trict road board or such member thereof as the said board may designate,
and before any account or claim shall be approved for such work, it
shall be the duty of the said district road board, or the member thereof
so designated by them, to inspect and examine said work or repairs, and
either accept or reject the same.

6. For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this act the said
district road boards are hereby authorized and empowered to work and
repair said roads and bridges in such manner and by such methods as
they may deem proper, not inconsistent with this act, and under such
rules and regulations as they from time to time devise, promulgate and
adopt, and that are not in conflict with this act.

%. The said district road boards are authorized and empowered, out
of the district fund for such district, purchase and keep all necessary
tools, teams, machinery, material and supplies, and employ competent
superintendents, overseers, foremen and other necessary labor by contract
or otherwise, and to fix their compensation.

8. . All claims and accounts for supplies and materials furnished to,
or work and repairs done for said district road board shall be itemized in
detail and sworn to by the claimant and presented to said district road
board in writing thereon signed by a majority of the said board, and
certified to the board of supervisors of said county, and if said claim or
account is approved by the said district road board, the said board of
supervisors shall issue its warrant therefor, drawn upon the treasurer of
the said county and payable out of the district road fund for such dis-
trict; otherwise the said board of supervisors shall not issue a warrant
therefor.

9. And the members of the district road boards shall receive for
their services the sum of two dollars for each day they are actually em-
ployed in the discharge of their duties, provided no member shall receive
more than thirty dollars for services rendered in any one year.

10. Any person who may by threat, force or otherwise hinder, delay
or prevent or attempt to hinder, delay or prevent the said district road
commissioners, or either of them from discharge of his duties under this
act, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not less than twenty nor
more than one hundred dollars or be confined in the county jail not
exceeding six months or both, in the discretion of the justice trying the
case.

11. And be it further enacted by the general assembly of Virginia.
That for the purpose of building roads and bridges and making per-
manent improvements on the roads and bridges in Powhatan county,
there shall be, and is, hereby created for the said county a county road
board, to be composed of all the district road commissioners in said
county, and all the members of the board of supervisors of said county,
and of which the chairman of the board of supervisors shall be chairman.

12. There shall be two regular meetings of the said county road board
in each year, at the courthouse of the said county: one shall be held on
the first Monday in April, and the other shall be held on the first Monday
in September. The said county road board may hold other meetings at
such times and places as they may deem proper, provided that the mem-
bers of the said county road board shall not receive compensation for
attendance upon more than five meetings of said board in any one year.
The members of the said county road board shall receive a compensation
of two dollars per diem for attendance upon the meetings of said board,
which shall be paid out of the county road fund.

13. The said county road board shall have general supervision of
all work done upon the roads and bridges of the said county of a per-
manent character and of the building and construction of all roads and
bridges, and on the part of the said county shall agree with the adjoining
counties in regard to the erection and maintenance of bridges between
said counties. It shall have authority and it shall be its duty to desig-
nate the roads or parts of roads in said county to be permanently im-
proved and the character of improvement to be made on each road.

14. The said county road board is hereby authorized and empowered
to make, build and construct said permanent improvements on the roads
and bridges of the said county, in such manner and by such methods, as it
may deem proper, and under such rules, regulations and specifications
as it may from time to time prescribe, promulgate and adopt, that are
not in conflict with this act.

15. And for the purpose of making such permanent improvements
the said county road board is hereby authorized and empowered, out of
the county road fund or any permanent road fund, to purchase and keep
all necessary tools, teams, machinery, supplies and material, and to em-
ploy competent engineers, mechanics, superintendents, ‘overseers, fore-
men and other necessary labor by contract or otherwise and to fix their
salaries.

16. All work of a permanent character made upon said roads and
bridges shal] be done under the personal supervision of a member of
the said county road board, to be designated by the said board,
and before any account or claim shall be approved for such work it shall
be the duty of said member so designated to inspect and examine said
work and either accept or reject the same, and report to said county road
board, and for such service of said member, the said county road board
may allow such sum as it may deem proper.

17. All claims and accounts for supplies and materials furnished to
or work done for said county road board upon said roads and bridges in
said county shall be itemized in detail and sworn to by the claimant and
presented to the said county road board, and which shall be approved or
disapproved by said county road board in writing thereon signed by the
chairman of the said board and the member thereof who inspected the
said supplies, material or work and certified to the board of supervisors
of said county and if the said claim or account is so approved, the board
f supervisors shall issue its warrant therefor, drawn upon the treasurer
f said county and payable out of the county road fund or any per-
nanent road fund which may be thereafter created or accrue to the
Tedit of said county.

18. It shall be the duty of the said county road board to apportion
mong the magisterial districts of said county such sum or sums, from
ime to time, out of the county road fund as said county road board may
letermine for the best interest of the roads and bridges in said districts,
ind which said sum or sums shall be transferred to the said district road
‘unds and used by the said district boards as the other district road fund.

19. The clerk of the circuit court of Powhatan county shall perform
the duties of clerk of the county road board and the Commonwealth’s
ittorney of said county shall be the legal adviser of said county road board
with the same duties and powers as are provided and imposed upon him
oy law in connection with the board of supervisors. Said clerk and
Commonwealth’s attorney shall receive for their additional services such
sums as the said county road board may determine right and proper.

20. On account of the inadequate road law now in force in the county
of Powhatan an emergency is declared to exist, and this act shall be in
force from its passage, and all special road laws for the county of Powha-
tan heretofore enacted are hereby repealed.