Chap. 65.—An ACT to amend and re-enact an act entitled “An act to pro-
vide for opening new roads, and building bridges, and working and
keeping in repair the public roads and bridges in Rockbridge county,”
approved March 8, 1894, as heretofore amended. [TH B 69]

Approved March 21, 1923.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly. of Virginia, That
an act entitled “An act to provide for opening new roads and
building bridges, and working and keeping in repair the public
roads and bridges in Rockbridge county,” approved March third,
eighteen hundred and ninety-four, as heretofore amended, be
further amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

Section 1. That public roads and bridges in the county of
Rockbridge shall be repaired and kept in order as follows: For
each magisterial district in the county there is hereby estab-
lished a board consisting of the supervisor of the district, who
shall be chairman thereof, a road commissioner, and the com-
missioner of the revenue of the district, who shall be treasurer
and clerk of the board. The said board shall be, and is hereby,
declared to be a body, politic and corporate. under the name and
style of the board of road commissioners for the ————————
magisterial district of the county of Rockbridge, and by such
name may sue and be sued.

Section 2. There shall be appointed by the board of super-
visors, within sixity days prior to the first day of July, nineteen
hundred and twenty-three, and biennially thereafter, a road
commissioner for each magisterial district of the county, whose
term of office shall begin on the first day of July next succeed-
ing his appointment and continue at the will of said boarc. He
shall qualify as other county and district officers are required to
qualify, and a failure to qualify before the commencement of
his term shall vacate his office. He shall have general super-
vision of all the roads and bridges in his district, and keep him-
self fully informed as to the condition of the same; and he shall
give such direction as to the character, manner, and extent of
repairs as he may deem necessary and expedient. He shall
examine all the roads in his district, in the months of June and
November of each year, and ascertain their condition, and if any
roads are found not in proper order. he shall have them re-
paired. He shail perform such other duties as may be prescrib-
ed by the board of supervisors, the district board of road com-
missioners, or required by law. It shall be lawful for the board
of supervisors to remove any road commissioner after ten days’
notice, and appoint another to fill the unexpired term; and
also to fill any vacancy in such office, from whatever cause oc-
curring. For failure of duty, the road commissioner shall be
subject to presentment by a grand jury, and on trial and con-
viction thereof shall be fined not less than one dollar nor more
than ten dollars.
Section 3. The clerks and treasurers of the boards of road
commissioners shall each qualify and give bond, before the cir-
cuit court, in a penalty of not less than double the amount of any
sum that is likely to be in their hands at any one time, and with
security to be approved by the court; such bonds to be executed
before the first day of January succeeding their election. It
shall be their duty to keep all books, papers, and records of the
board, and to receive and pay all moneys, as the board of road
commissioners may direct or the law may prescribe. They shall
Settle with the board of road commissioners in the months of
January and July of each year, and shall account for all money
received by them as such treasurers from any source whatever.
The clerk of the board of road commissioners shall annually, in
the month of July of each year, make a report to the board of
supervisors as follows:

First. The amount of money received by the district from
the county at large for road purposes.

Second. The amount realized from district taxation for road
purposes.

Third. How the same was expended—classifying the ex-
penditures as follows: For opening new roads, for repairing
roads, for implements purchased, for labor and teams, for ma-
terial, and for applying labor and material.

Section 4. The board of road commissioners of each magis-
terial district shall annually, on or before the first day of March
of each year, make an estimate of the amount necessary to open
new roads and keep in order the roads and bridges in their
respective districts, for one year, under the provisions of this
law, and report the same to the board of Supervisors.

Section 5. It shall be the duty of the board of supervisors,
upon the coming in of the estimates of. the boards of road com-
missioners, to annually levy a district road tax, not exceeding
fifty cents on every one hundred dollars of the value of all real
and personal property in the several magisterial districts of the
county and not embraced within the corporate limits of any in-
corporated town in the county which maintains its own streets.
This tax shall be assessed by the commissioners of the revenue
and collected by the county treasurer as other taxes are assessed
and collected, and used by the several boards of road commis-
Sioners in opening new roads, building bridges, and repairing
roads and bridges. The board of supervisors may also levy an
additional tax of not exceeding fifteen cents on every one
hundred dollars of the value of all real and personal property
in any district, the proceeds of which additional tax shall be
used for the purpose of acquiring road machinery and equip-
ment. A different rate of tax may be prescribed for different
districts in the county.
Section 6. It shall be the duty of the board of supervisors,
in addition to the levy provided for in the next preceding sec-
tion, to annually levy along with the county levy, a road tax to be
levied, collected and expended in accordance with the provisions
of section nineteen hundred and eighty-six of the Code of
Virginia. |

Section 7. The amounts realized from the district levy, as
provided in section five of this act, as well as the amounts ap-
portioned under section six of this act, shall be placed by the
county treasurer to the credit of the several boards of road com-
missioners of the county, and disbursed by them on warrants
issued by direction of said boards of road commissioners.

Section 8. The boards of road commissioners shall annually,
in the month of July of each year, audit, adjust, and settle their
respective accounts with the county treasurer for the preceding
year. They shall charge the treasurer with.the full amount of
road tax levied in their district, and the amount of money ap-
portioned thereto by the board of supervisors, and shall credit
him by his commissions, delinquents and all payments made by
him on warrants for which he has the proper receipt.

Section 9. Every petition to alter, change, or discontinue a
public road, to open a new road or build a bridge or establish a
ferry must be referred to the board of road commissioners of
the district or districts in which the same is to be located, who
shall endorse thereon their approval or disapproval and their
reasons therefor. The petition shall be then proceeded with as
prescribed by the general statutes in such cases made and pro-
vided: but the board of road commissioners may order and es-
tablish any change in a road which does not involve the condem-:
nation of land, or payment of damages, not exceeding twenty-
five dollars, upon agreement with the landowner, to be paid out
of the district fund.

Section 10. When the location of any road is or hereafter
may be on a line dividing two magisterial districts, the road
commissioners of adjoining districts shall equitably divide the
expenses of said roads between such districts, or, upon their
failure to agree, the board of supervisors shall divide the same
and direct what part of said road shall be kept in repair by each
magisterial district.

Section 11. In opening new roads and building bridges cost-
ing less than three hundred dollars, or in repairing bridges, such
work may be done by contract or otherwise. If by contract the
board of road commissioners may prescribe such regulations
and take such bonds and security of contractors as may be
deemed wise and best; but in building bridges costing three
hundred dollars or more, and in repairs to bridges costing two
hundred dollars or more the general statutes in such cases made
and provided shall apply.
Section 12. The board of road commissioners of each mag-
isterial district shall, from time to time, prescribe and note
upon the record of their proceedings such plans, specifications,
restrictions, and directions as they may deem best for the work-
ing, keeping in order and repairing the roads and bridges in the
county, including any special plans, specifications, restrictions,
or directions which they may prescribe for particular roads or
bridges, and they shall from time to time fix, the price to be al-
lowed and paid for the hire of foremen or overseers, hands,
teams, plows, and other implements used on the public roads.

Section 18. It shall be the duty of each supervisor to keep
himself informed as to the condition of the public roads and
bridges in his magisterial district, the manner in which they
are worked and kept in repair, and whether or not the road
commissioner of his district has fully performed his duty; and
in addition to the information incidentally received by him, he
shall carefully inspect all the roads and bridges in his district at
least once during the year, one of which inspections shall be in
the month of October of each year, and report in writing to the
board of supervisrs on the first Monday in December of each
year their condition, whether or not there has been any general
improvement over the preceding year, and if the road commis-
sioner has faithfully and judiciously discharged his duty.

Section 14. The cost of working and repairing the public
roads and of opening new roads shall be borne by the respective
districts in which they are located, except such as may be taken
over by the board of supervisors under section twenty-three of
this act, as also shall the building of bridges costing less than
three hundred dollars, and repairs to any bridges costing less
than two hundred dollars. But should any great or unforeseen
damage casually occur by extraordinary floods to any road or
roads, and the road commissioners of the district or districts
affected thereby are unable, with the means at their command,
to repair such road or roads, the board of supervisors, or a ma-
jority of them in meeting assembled, may appropriate such sums ©
from the county levy as may meet the exigency. All bridges
costing three hundred dollars or more shall be built by the
county at large, and all repairs to any bridge costing two
hundred dollars or more shall also be paid by the county.

Section 15. The board of supervisors shall require the
county clerk to have prepared and printed all blank forms of
reports for supervisors and clerks of boards of road commis-
sioners, time and receipt books for road overseers, and any other
papers necessary for use in carrying out the provisions of this
act, the cost of which shall be paid out of the county levy.

Section 16. The clerk of the county shall keep in his office
a well-bound book (properly indexed), in which he shall record
the commissioners’ or viewers’ report, the plat or diagram and
order establishing any road, whether the same be established
by the board of supervisors or by any board of road commis-
sioners of the county, under section nine of this act.

section 17. The pay of officers for services shall be as fol-
lows: The supervisor, clerk of board of road commissioners and
road commissioner shall receive three dollars per day for each
meeting of the board of road commissioners, not to exceed ten
meetings in any one year; and the clerk of said board shall re-
ceive three dollars per day, and not exceeding fifty dollars in
any one year, for all other services which he may perform; the
road commissioner, for locating and opening new roads, and for
all other services rendered, three dollars per day, not to exceed
fifty dollars:in Lexington district, one hundred dollars each in
Buffalo and Kerr’s creek districts, and one hundred and fifty
dollars in Natural Bridge district, and one hundred and twenty
dollars each in Walker’s creek and South river districts in any
year; supervisors, for examining roads and bridges and making
annual reports of the condition of the same and other work,
three dollars per day; the viewers, for locating roads, and the
commissioners, for assessing land damages, three dollars per
day; surveyors, three dollars per day, and chain carriers, one
dollar and seventy-five cents per day each, all of which shall be
paid by the county treasurer out of the county road fund, on
warrants issued by the board of supervisors on itemized ac-
counts, sworn to. And such officers as are required to make re-
ports shall not receive their pay until such reports are made
and filed.

Section 18. The general road law of the State of Virginia
in so far as the same is not in conflict with this act, shall be in
force in the county of Rockbridge; and nothing contained in
this act shall be so construed to interfere with unexpired con-
tracts for the working of roads in said county. :

Section 19. All special acts heretofore passed by the general
assembly of Virginia, in reference to public roads and bridges
in Rockbridge county, are hereby repealed; provided, however,
that the district boards of road commissioners, and the district
road commissioners, as constituted and holding office at the
time of the passage of this act, shall continue to discharge the
duties of their offices, and be subject to the provisions of this
act until their successors shall be elected and appointed, and
shall qualify under the provisions of this act.

Section 20. Said board of supervisors is authorized, in its
discretion, by ordinance, to establish the office of county super-
intendent of roads for said county, and to fill the same by the
election of a man who is a civil engineer, well versed in practical
road building, and competent to establish grades, and to conduct
the office of county road superintendent. The powers and duties
of such county road superintendent, his term of office, oath,
bond and qualifications, shall be those which are now, or which
may hereafter be prescribed by law in respect to county super-
intendents of roads.

Any such ordinance shall be published for four successive
weeks in sOMe newspaper or newspapers published in said
county, before it shall become effective.

Section 21. Said board of supervisors is further authorized
and empowered to adopt for said county any special road law
which may have been, or may hereafter be enacted, for any
county or counties of this State, or any specific sections or pro-
visions of any such road law, or any section or provision of any
general road law enacted for the construction, improvement and
maintenance of the public roads in the counties of the Common-
wealth, generally, and shall cause any ordinance adopting any
such road law, or section, or provision thereof, to be published
for four weeks in some newspaper or newspapers published in
said county, and when such ordinance shall have been so pub-
lished, it shall have the force and effect of law.

A certificate of the publisher of any such newspaper, filed
with the clerk of the board of supervisors, shall be evidence that
any requirements of this act, as to the publication of any ordi-
nance has been complied with.

Section 22. Said board of supervisors is authorized to pay
the clerk of said board for his services, as such clerk, in connec-
tion with roads, and the legislation in regard thereto, and for his
services generally, as the clerk thereof, a salary of not exceeding
one hundred and twenty dollars per annum.

Section 283. The board of supervisors is authorized and em-
powered, in its discretion, to take over, upon such notice and
terms as it may prescribe, all or any part of the county system
of roads for construction and maintenance, the same to be
constructed and maintained from the county road fund, to-
gether with such State aid as may be allotted thereto and such
district and other funds as may be provided. When so taken
over, said roads shall be under the exclusive jurisdiction of said
board for construction and maintenance only.

2. An emergency exisLIMg, | this act shall be in force from
its passage: