KOAD MILEAGE, CENTRAL AND WESTERN STATES. 43 



The public highways of the State are divided into thi'ee classes, State roads, county 

 roads, and township roads. State roads include intercounty highways and main 

 market roads improved or taken over by the State, and are maintained by the State 

 highway department. County roads are such as are improved, or that may hereafter 

 be improved, by the county, or heretofore built by the State and not a part of the 

 •system of intercounty highways and main market roads, together with such roads as 

 are, or may be cpnstructed by the township trustees to conform to the standard for 

 county roads as fixed by the county commissioners, and all such roads are maintained 

 by the coimty commissioners. Towpship roads include all other public highways, 

 and are maintained by the township trustees, but the coimty commissioners may 

 assist in maintaining such roads. 



To provide funds to enable counties and townships to pay their portion of the cost 

 of roads built with State aid, the county boards of commissioners may levy a tax of 

 not to exceed 1 mill on all taxable property in the county and township trustees may 

 levy not to exceed 2 mills on all taxable property in the township. The county com- 

 missioners may issue bonds of the county in anticipation of the taxes which may be 

 levied, the amount not to exceed the sum of the coimty, township and land assess- 

 ment portions of the cost of State-aid highways. 



After the annual estimate for the county has been filed with the county commis- 

 sioners by the county highway superintendent, as required by law, the county com- 

 missioners, after having made such changes or modifications as they deem desirable, 

 may levy for the purposes set forth in the estimate a tax of not to exceed 2 mills upon 

 each dollar of taxable property in the county; and after the annual estimate for each 

 township has been filed with the trustees of the township, they may levy a tax of not 

 to exceed 2 mills upon each dollar of taxable property in the township outside the 

 limits of incorporated villages or cities. 



The trustees of any township may levy and assess upon each dollar of taxable prop- 

 erty therein a tax of not exceeding 3 mills for the purpose of improving, dragging 

 repairing, or maintaining any public road, or roads, or parts thereof. The trustees 

 designate the roads within the township to be improved, and direct the county highway 

 superintendent to make necessary surveys, plans, specifications, and estimates. 

 If the funds raised by the levy be insufiicient, the trustees may issue bonds of the 

 township if authorized by a favorable vote of a majority of the qualified electors of the 

 township who participated in the last preceding election for governor. The trustees 

 may assess all or any part of the cost of making such improvement against the land 

 not more than 1 mile from either side or terminus of the road or roads improved. 



The owners of real estate in any township may petition the township trustees for 

 the construction, reconstruction, or improvement of any public road, or part thereof, 

 in such township, and for the assessment, according to the benefits, of from 25 to 50 

 per cent of the cost thereof on the real estate within 1 mile, or within one-half mile, 

 on either side or terminus of such road or part thereof. 



The funds derived from the registration and licensing of motor vehicles is applied 

 to the maintenance and repair of the intercounty highways and the main market 

 roads of the State. 



Authority is granted for the working of State prisoners on the intercounty highways 

 and main market roads. They may be worked also on the county roads, and county 

 and municipal convicts may be worked upon the public roads and streets. 



ROAD MILEAGE. 



At the close of 1914 Ohio had 86,354 miles of public road, of which 30,569.17 miles 

 or 35.16 per cent were sm'faced. Of the sui'faced roads 12,903.87 miles were macadam, 

 1,066.29 bituminoTos macadam, 15,385.93 gravel, 640.41 brick, 315.67 concrete, 211 

 sand-clay, and 46 miscellaneous. In addition, there were reported 15,280 miles of 

 graded and drained earth roads. At the close of 1909 Ohio had. according to reports 



