ECONOMIC SURVEYS OF COUNTY HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT, 39 



new item in 1915. The coimty roads, the district roads, and the 

 road bonds jointly required $1.11, or 59.7 per cent of the county rate, 

 or 56.6 per cent of the total for aU. purposes. This average rate for 

 road bonds is somewhat misleading, as the individual rates range 

 from a minimum of 60 cents in Yokum District to a maximum of 

 90 cents for Jonesville District. It may convey a more accurate con- 

 ception of the situation, therefore, if the statement is made that the 

 taxpayer in Jonesville District pays a total of $2.25 on the hundred 

 doUars of valuation for all purposes, of which 40 per cent is for the 

 road bonds, this being the highest tax rate m the comity. The re- 

 duction in the State tax for 1915 to 10 cents is partially offset by 

 other forms of State tax on raiboads, on cash in banks, on notes, 

 bonds, and certain other intangible property. There was obtained 

 from the assessed valuation of $4,689,205 in 1910 about $65,600, while 

 from the assessed valuation of $4,973,457 in 1915 there was obtained 

 about $97,500. Thus in spite of the improvement in the roads very 

 little increase in the assessed valuation took place, and only by a 

 marked increase of the tax rate was it possible to produce adequate 

 revenue. This county, therefore, affords a striking exception to the 

 general rule that improved roads bring about increase in assessed 

 valuations. 



HOW THE WORK WAS MANAGED. 



The routes were selected and the number of miles to be improved 

 and the amount to be expended determined without first obtaining 

 engineering inspection and advice. This may account for the fact 

 that the mileage of roads set forth in the order of election was greater 

 than could be improved with the funds derived from the bond issue. 

 This discrepancy between promise and fulfillment caused a consid- 

 erable amount of dissatisfaction, and the experience of this county 

 demonstrates the necessity for obtaining competent engineering 

 advice before launching upon extensive road improvement. As 

 pointed out elsewhere in this bulletin, legislation has recently been 

 enacted in Virginia requiring inspection and preliminary estunates 

 by the State highway department before bond elections can be held. 



The general scheme of improvement was to construct two main 

 roads extending through the county, with branch roads from the 

 farming communities, but as White Shoals District failed to vote in 

 favor of the bonds it was not possible to carry out the plan for two 

 main roads. Less than 60 per cent of the roads originally provided 

 for in the order of election have been improved. One road 20 miles 

 in length, from Rose HiU to Cumberland Gap, and another road 8 

 miles in length, from Ben Hur to St. Charles, have been graded and 

 macadamized. Three other roads, aggregating 22J miles in length, 

 have been graded. A number of short sections in various parts of 



