Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1927-02-03
BRIEF HISTORY OF GOOD
DOADS WORK IN STATE
Review of Road Laws and Conditions
In West Virginia Prior to Pass
age of $50, 000, 900 Bond Issue
By DWIGHT H. TETER


By DWIGHT H. TETER
In order to arrive at better I'M
Outstanding of the detailed discussion
of the building of good roads in West
Virginia during the past five years,
. brief history of our old road laws
and conditions leading up to the pass
age of the s50,000,00O bond issue, is
pertinent at this time.
One has only to go back in his
memory to 1910 or 1915 to realize in
what a chaotic state the reads of
West Virginia were before the good
roads movement struck the people of
this state. The comparatively few
people who owned automobiles at that
time could only use them four or five
months of the year and then only
when it was not raining and had not
been raining for several days. These
are conditions which most all of us
remember very vividly. Some Of us
can remember back when there were
no automobiles, when the only paved
roads in the state were within the
corporate limits of some of our larger
cities. In those days winter in Yves
Virginia was real winter. A farmer
was just as much isolated from his
neighbors and from his county seat
as if he lived in some remote section
of Alaska, hemmed in by the winter
SHOWS.
Original Road Laws
Road building in those days was not
an organized endeavor. The original
road laws of West Virginia were pat
termed for the most part after those
of Virginia. Each coun y was divided
into road precincts, which precincts
did not include corporated towns.
The county court was required to
appoint annually a road surveyor"
for each precinct, to superintend all
work on public roads and bridges.
keep them clear of obstruction, erect
guide posts and notify all persons
required by law to work on the roads.
In 1891 the title Of this official was
changed to road superintendent
Under this law, every man not
pauper, over II and under SO years Of
age, was required TO do at least two
days work ON the roads in his pre-
cinct between the first of April and
the first Of September. Not moro than
four days work could be required in
one year, except in cases of emergen-
cy. Any Individual if he pleased,
could pay the county not less than
rs cents and not more than $1.25 a
day instead of doing the prescribed
road work. If he refused to work on
the roads or spent his time on the job
in 'idleness or inattention" he could
be charged with the full $1.25 per
day If more extensive improvements
were desired, the county court could
lay levy or issue bonds. Each in
dividual could work out at least %
of his road taxes, and the county
court could, if desired, require l-3 in
cash.
Thirty-foot Roads
A law first enacted IN 1872 required
that every road should be 80 #. wide
unless the county court ordered it to
be of different width.
What was called "the alternate road
law" provided that, if approved by
the voters, a county court could d.
vide the roads into two-mile sections
and let the maintenance contracts to
the lowest bidders. To meet the cost
there was to. be levied a capitation
tax Of S1.00 and general levy Of not
to exceed five mills on the dollar.
In 1907, the office of State Highway
Inspector was created. This official
was to investigate and determine
what was needed in the way Of road
development in the various counties
and what changes were required in
the laws relating to construction and
maintenance, to meet the existing
conditions with the least possible
burden on the taxpayers.
Sta'e Aid
In 1909 the legislature created the
office of County Road Engineer and
State Commissioner of Public Roads.
This legislature also established
system of state aid for road improve
nents. The total sum was small and
the basis was one third paid by the
state and two thirds by the county.
The duties of the State Commissioner
! were to aid the County Engineers in
systematizing their work, in estab-
fishing standards for construction aid
maintenance and in general encourage
ing the progress of good road build
| ing.
The legislature of 1911 repealed this
state aid law and abolished the office
Of the State Road Commissioner, thus
restoring all road matters to the
counties
The legislature of 1913 passed
law creating State Road Bureau,
and providing for the use of state
prison labor by the counties. The
chief duties of the Road Bureau were
to cooperate with the county court,
compile and distribute road informa-
ton, and to make an annual report to
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