16 



BULLETIN 393, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUKE. 



The regular road work of the county 'is carried on linder the direc- 

 tion of a superintendent appointed by the board of supervisors and 

 receiving a salary of $1,200 per annum, house rent free, and trans- 

 portation. The superintendent hires all labor and teams and pur- 

 chases machinery, equipment, and materials on the approval of the 

 board of supervisors. 



Three main highways radiating from Fredericksburg and aggre- 

 gating, with their branches, 39.5 miles, were selected for improve- 

 ment and the actual routes were set forth in the order of election. 

 These roads, located in Courtland and Chancellor districts, were 

 improved from funds derived from the $100,000 bond issues for those 

 districts, the amounts apportioned to each district being in accord- 

 ance with the proportionate mileage in each. The first contract was 

 awarded in July, 1910, and the last mile of road was completed in 

 these two districts in September, 1913. By actual measurement 

 the roads improved aggregated 40.89 miles, or 1.39 miles more than 

 originally /contemplated. This, of itself, was an unusual showing, 

 but an even more striking evidence of the economy exercised was 

 the fact that enough money remained of the original $100,000 issued 

 to construct an additional gravel road between Spotsylvania Court- 

 house and the" southern boundary of Courtland district, a distance of 

 2.3 miles. This was completed in August, 1913, making a total 

 mileage of roads completed under the bond issue in Courtland and 

 Chancellor districts of 43.19 miles, or a little over 10 per cent of the 

 total of 400 miles of road in the county. 



The average cost per mile, including culverts and bridges, was 

 $2,319.21. As an example of the great improvement in bridges, see 

 Plate IV. The roads were all constructed of gravel, except 1.7 miles 

 of water-bound macadam, which was surfaced with gneiss of a very 

 poor quahty. This section has worn badly and most of it has since 

 been resurfaced with gravel. The gravel used on the improved road 

 system was composed of quartz pebbles, quartz sand, and clay of 

 fairly good wearing quahty. Table 4 is a detailed report on dimen- 

 sions and costs and was supplied by the State highway commissioner 

 of Virginia. 



Table 4. — Mileage and cost of roads built. 



CHANCELLOR DISTRICT. 



Name of road. 



Length | Width of 

 of road. ; roadway. 



Width of 

 gravel. 



Expended 

 on road. 



Rate per 

 mile. 



Plank 



Miles. 

 5.250 

 4.772 

 3.9 

 4.29 



Feet. 

 20 

 20 

 20 

 20 



Feet. 

 14 

 14 

 14 

 14 



88,410.91 

 9,224.05 

 9, 272. 38 



10,953.87 



11,602.08 

 1, 932. 95 



Pike 





2, 377. 53 



Catharpin 



2 553.35 









18.212 20 



14 



37, 861. 21 



2,080.27 



