EOAD MILEAGE AND REVENUES IN NEW ENGLAND STATES. 13 
duplicate such amount as may be voted by the town in excess of the 
amoimt otherwise required by law to be raised, provided the town so 
raises not less than $100 nor more than $1,000. An appropriation 
is made annually as a " bridge fund" to enable the State highway 
commissioner to furnish engineering assistance to the town selectmen 
in building, rebuilding, or repairing bridges on selected or State 
roads. A State highway tax of 5 cents on the dollar is assessed 
annually upon the " grand list," which is arrived at by taking 1 per 
cent of the assessed valuation. The revenues derived therefrom are 
apportioned to the towns and incorporated villages by the State 
treasurer in the ratio of the highway mileage of such town or incor- 
porated village to the total road mileage of the State. 
The net revenues from automobile registrations and licenses are set 
apart as a maintenance fund to be expended only for repair and 
maintenance of main thoroughfares and State roads. Towns are 
required to appropriate annually a sum not less than one-fifth of their 
grand lists to keep highways in repair. No part of the funds raised 
from town or State highway taxes or appropriated by the State for 
highway improvements shall be used in repairing, building, or rebuild- 
ing bridges or culverts, or the approaches thereto, which exceed 4 
feet span. These shall be under the exclusive control of the select- 
men, who shall repair and rebuild them when necessary with funds 
to be raised in the general town tax. 
Selectmen have jurisdiction over the laying out, alteration, discon- 
tinuance, and working of roads and bridges in their respective towns. 
A town road commissioner is elected by the town for the purpose 
of superintending the expenditure of the highway tax and having 
charge of keeping in repair the highways of the town. A town may 
elect two road commissioners, in which event the selectmen shall 
divide the town into two highway districts, one in charge of each 
commissioner. The county court in each county appoints annually 
three county road commissioners. If a highway or bridge be out 
of repair or unsafe, any three citizens or taxpayers of a town may 
give notice thereof to a selectman, and if the necessary repairs are 
not then made, complaint may be filed with one of the county road 
commissioners, who may order the necessary repairs made at the 
expense of a town within a specified time if the selectmen, after 
notice, neglect to do so. 
If a town in which the tax for town purposes, except for schools, 
together with the money expended on its highways in the preceding 
5 years, has averaged at least $1.50 on the dollar of its grand list, 
believes it is excessively burdened by being required to build, rebuild, 
or repair a highway or bridge wholly in such town, and other town 
or towns would be especially benefited by the use of such highway, 
the town so burdened may petition the county court for commissioners 
