ROAD MILEAGE, CENTRAL AND WESTERN STATES. 43 
The public highways of the State are divided into three 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 constructed 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 county commissioners. Township roads include all other public highways, 
and are maintained by the township trustees, but the county 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 county, 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 necessaiy surveys, plans, specifications, and estimates. 
If the funds raised by the levy be insufficient, 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 surfaced. Of the surfaced roads 12,903.87 miles were macadam, 
1,066.29 bituminous 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 
