The independent. [volume] (Elizabeth City, N.C.) 1908-1936, 1920-08-13
A new DISTRICT
ROAD MEASURE
Ferebee Road Bill Rewritten
And New Effort Will Be
Made For District
Highway

At a conference IN the OIlCe ol
the State Highway Commission
in Raleigh Tuesday night, Sena-
tor Niles w. Ferebee and the
representative of the five coun-
ties embraced in the Northeas-
tern North Carolina Highway |
District agreed upon practical
1v new draft of the Ferebee Dis
trict Highway Bill. under which
it is hoped hard surface road
connecting the county seats OF
Chowan, Perquimans, Pasquo-
tank and Currituck will be built.
The new bill will follow the sugges-
.tions made by w O. Saunders in this
| na,xsnaper two weeks ago. Pending the
| availability of state and federal aid sui
ficient to build hard surface road
frem Edepton to Virginia line, the
District Highway Commission will, un-
der state and federal supervision oegln
| the construction of a foundation roao
which will be hard surfaced when FUNDS
are available. The funds are not avail
able now and may not be for several
wears TO come But before even a nara
| surface road can be built there Is work
| 70 be done involving the expenditure of
several hundred thousand dollars.
| The road lines must be Strengthened
| PriGges and culyertS must be Dullt
SwamDs must be filled. And both sur
face and ub-drainage must be provided.
All of this preliminary work must be
done and it can be done now. Nhen
done it will provide a good dirt road
which will serve the district very we'll
indeed for a few years until it can be
hard surfaced. The bill will guaran-
tee the eventual hard surfacing OF the
road with state and federal AID ana not
; dollar will be spent until state and
federal aid are available
Nor will any county in the district be
. taxed or any tax levy made until state
and federal aid is secured. There VIII
, he no bond issue until state and fede-
raj aid is available and then only such
bonds will be issued as will be required
from time to time.
But instead of bond issue being lev
i
G tions as under the old act, each county
y will make it's own bond issue. Camoeh
v would be obligated to bond for Soo,Ooo
y for her proportion of the district cost;
:, Currituck $4,000; Chowan SoO,OOO;
u Perouimans S13O,OOO; Pasquotank $780,
600. Tax monies already paid IN by the
counties under the old Ferebee bill vii
he turned into the county treasures tc
- create q sinking fund to be used in the
retirement of future bond issues.
is The new act will contemplate the
ID bridging of Paasquotank river at OF
" near Elizabeth City as one of the tlrs
" links in the proposed highway. Th'
IN State Highway Commission will deter
.r mine the type of bridge to be built ant
e. designate where it shall be built.
is The new act will provide not only TO
a. the construction of the road to the V1r
ginia line, but provides >for four mil
m snur to Currituck G. H, since the stat
s. highway act Of 1919 provides that roa
e. nroiects to receive state aid must con
n nect county seats and principal cltle
rs within the state.
is Chairman Chas. Whedbee of the dis
If trict Highway Commission set to wor
he 11pon the draft of the new bill Wednes
of day morning and, after another confer
ID ence of the Representatives concerne
in the new bill will be introduced in the Sc
III nate this week.
MS Chairman Frank Page of the Stat
on Highway Commission emphatically II
20. dorsed the Saunders idea of beglnnlr
< with a foundation road rather than was
sis ing Indefinitely for sufficient funds
in build a hard surfaced road. Senate
Ferebee, who recently stated that
cal would not consent to the expenditure
in any part of a bond issue on dirt roa
in revised his position when assured tn
,ile such a road would be built with the qua
MIR antee that it would be followed up wi
more permanent construction.