CHAP. 216.—An ACT to amend and re-enact an act approved March 25,
1914, providing for the opening, building and keeping in repair the
public roads and bridges of Caroline county. (H. B. 239.)

Approved March 17, 1916.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
an act entitled an act to amend and re-enact an act approved
March twenty-fifth, nineteen hundred and fourteen, entitled an
act to provide for the opening, building and keeping in repair
the public roads and bridges of Caroline county, be amended and
re-enacted so as to read as follows:

Sec. 1. The management and control of all roads in the
county of Caroline shall be placed under the direction of the
board of supervisors of the said county, who are hereby consti-
tuted a road board for the purpose.

The board of supervisors are empowered and authorized to
levy annually a road tax of not exceeding sixty (60) cents on
the one hundred dollars valuation of all taxable property, which
together with such other moneys as may be derived from any
road tax upon telephone lines, railroads, et cetera, shall consti-
tute a road fund, of which fund at least one-half shall be ex-
pended annually towards the permanent improvement of the
main public roads of said county. Permanent improvements
shall be construed to mean any macadam, gravel and sand-clay
roads, or such improvements as may be approved in advance
by the State highway commissioner.

The said road board shall adopt economical, modern, pro-
gressive and uniform standards for the construction and repair
of roads; shall carefully scrutinize all expenditures of road
funds, and in their discretion, shall require all persons who
use wagons, carts, or other vehicles, in said county, to provide
such wagons, carts, or other vehicles with tires of such width
as they, the said board, may prescribe, upon such conditions as
they may prescribe, and may prescribe such penalty for the
failure of any person to comply with said requirement or order
as they may deem best.

No person shall drag any logs or log, over or along any pub-
lic road of said county without first having obtained the con-
sent, in writing, of the supervisor of the district, and any per-
son convicted thereof shall pay a fine of not less than two dol-
lars and a half, nor more than twenty-five dollars, which shall
be turned into the road fund of the district in which the offense
was committed. Said road board is authorized to make and
publish such order or regulation governing the use of said roads
as it may deem wise and proper, and said road board, or any
member thereof, for his district, shall have authority whether
such order has been made and published or not, to forbid the
public from travelling on any road, or portion of road, while
the same is being built, improved or repaired, and thereafter
when such travel would, by weather conditions, in the opinion
of said road board, or any member thereof for his district,
greatly damage such road, and may prescribe such penalty for
the failure of any person to comply with said order or regula-
tion as they may deem best; to require adjacent property hold-
ers to remove all trees which may fall from their land into the
road; to proceed, by warrant, against all parties plowing up,
moving, or otherwise encroaching upon or obstructing said
road; or driving vehicles unnecessarily into or along the ditches
on the side of said roads; to require drivers of wagons to ac-
company same while same are in motion upon said public roads;
and any party so convicted shall be punished as for a misde-
meanor and fined not less than five nor more than twenty-five
dollars. Said road board may appoint for each of the districts
in the county as many persons as said board may deem neces-
sary, to report to said board or a justice of the peace, all viola-
tions of this act or of any order passed by said board in pur-
suance thereof, and said board may enter an order to pay to
any such person so appointed a proportion of any fine assessed
in any case so reported.

It shall be the duty of such member of said road board of
each district of Caroline county to see that the roads in his dis-
trict are kept cleared, smoothed of rocks and other obstructions,
of necessary width; that the beds of the roads are raised in the
middle and sloped gradually each way to the sides, well drained,
and secure from the falling of dead timber thereon, and other-
wise in good order; that if needs be, a suitable sign board be
placed and kept at every important fork or crossing, on which
shall be stated in plain letters the most noted place to which
each road leads; that bridges be constructed and maintained in
a safe, substantial condition, and that across any stream or ra-
vine where it may be necessary or practicable a sufficient bridge,
bench or log shall be made for the accommodation of foot pas-
sengers, which shall always be kept in safe condition; and where
the bed of said roads are encroached upon, the member of said
board for such district shall notify the person trespassing by
written notice to remove the obstruction, and if the same be
not done in ten days, he shall cause said obstruction to be re-
moved and may recover the expense with costs from said tres-
passer before any justice of the peace of said district.

The said road board shall have authority to direct a sur-
veyor of said county to define the boundary of any road therein;
to alter the grade of any existing road, and to perform such
other service aS may be necessary to carry out the provisions
of this act, for which service the said surveyor shall receive
reasonable compensation from the said board not exceeding,
however, two dollars per day, payable out of the road fund.

The said road board may adopt such methods of working
and repairing said roads as the said board shall deem best; they
may purchase or hire such teams, road machines, engines, im-
plements, tools, wagons, camp equipage and all other necessary
articles for the use of the employees working said roads; to
hire such labor as may be necessary and put the same to work
for such time during the year as they may deem best on any
of the roads of said county, under a foreman appointed by the
members of said board for each district, who shall be manager
of the same, under the direction and control.of the member of
said road board for his district.

All road taxes shall be expended in the district from which
they are collected; provided, however, that the construction and
repair of bridges shall be under the control and supefvision of
the board of supervisors, and the cost of said construction and
repair may be paid for out of the county levy.

Each member of the said road board for his district shall
keep a strict and faithful record of his expenditures of said road
fund in his district, require itemized accounts for all expendi-
tures, pay all bills by warrants drawn on the county treasurer
on said road fund; and shall, annually, produce before the Com-
monwealth’s attorney of said county, at the time the county
_ treasurer settles his accounts, the itemized bills for which they
have drawn their warrants, and the said itemized bills shall be
filed in the clerk’s office of Caroline county along with the said
warrants.

The clerk shall annually make off statements of the road ac-
counts for the respective districts, and have the same published
along with the annual statement of the settlement with the
county treasurer.

The county treasurer shall keep the road fund separate from
ary tax funds, keeping an account with each district sepa-
rately.

For all services rendered by said supervisors under this act
they shall each be entitled to receive as compensation a sum not
exceeding sixty dollars in any one year, except as members of
the road board of Caroline county there shall be allowed each
member two dollars per day for each day not exceeding two
in any one month spent in inspecting the roads of their several
districts, provided they make due report of the condition of said
roads of said districts at next meeting succeeding said inspec-
tion.

Any person, or persons, violating any of the provisions of
this act, concerning the roads and bridges in said county, may be
proceeded against, as for a misdemeanor, by a warrant from a
justice of the peace of the district, and in which the offense
occurred.
2. All acts and parts of acts in conflict herewith are hereby
repealed, so far as they affect Caroline county.