LAYING OUT ROADS BY FREEHOLDERS. It shall be lawful for the Board of Chosen Freeholders of any of the several counties of this State, when said board deem it for the best interests of such county, to lay out, construct and maintain public roads extending through such county in any direction, to submit, by resolution, the question whether or not such public roads shall be laid out, to the electors of said county, at an election, to be held at the same time and place of holding the general election in and for said county for members of the General Assembly of this State, by the same officers, but in separate ballot-box, and if, at such election, a majority of the electors shall vote "against public road," nothing in this act shall apply or be effective in said county; but if a majority of the electors vote "in favor of public road," then the board shall proceed as directed by the act entitled "An act to authorize the board of chosen freeholders of any of the several counties of this state to lay out, open, construct, improve and maintain a public road therein," approved April 7th, 1888. P. L. 1888, p. 397. FORM OF APPLICATION TO LAY OUT, VACATE OR ALTER PUBLIC ROADS. (Revised Statutes, page 2828-119, Sec. 1.) That when ten or more persons, being freeholders, shall think a public road necessary, or any public road which hath been or shall be laid out unnecessary, or any alteration in such road necessary in any part of the county in which they reside, it shall be lawful for the said persons to make application in writing to the inferior court of common pleas of the said county, in open court, having given previous notice for at least ten days of such intended application, and also of the day on which such application is intended to be made, by advertisements under their hands, and set up at three of the most public places in the township in which the said road is proposed to be laid out, vacated or altered, and if there be more townships than one through which the said road may run, by advertisements to be set up at three of the most public places in each township; and the said court, when applied to as aforesaid, on due proof being made that the advertisements have been set up according to law, on which the judgment of the court shall be final and conclusive, are hereby authorized and required to appoint six of the surveyors of the highways of the said county, ever having regard to the appointment of the surveyors of the highways of the township or townships where the said road shall be so applied for to be laid out, vacated or altered; provided, that no surveyor shall be appointed through whose land the road may run, or who for any other reason which the court in their discretion shall deem sufficient, think ought not to be appointed; and the said surveyors shall meet at such time and place as the said court shall direct, a copy of which appointment shall be served on each of the said surveyors at least six days prior to the time of their meeting; and two of the said applicants shall, at least twelve days prior to the said time, sign and set up advertisements at three of the most public places in the said township or townships, setting forth the time and place of the meeting of the surveyors agreeably to the directions of the court, and designating the points or places from and to which the said road is proposed to be laid out, vacated or altered. (See Secs. 138 and 168, post.) 138. Sec. 1. That whenever ten or more persons, being freeholders, shall think any alteration of any public road necessary in any part of the county wherein they reside, by having such road or a portion thereof vacated, and the same relaid or another road substituted therefor, they may make application in writing to the inferior court of common pleas of such county, or to one of the judges thereof, setting forth in writing the road or portion thereof as aforesaid which it is proposed to have vacated, describing the same by courses and distances and also describing the road as it is to be relaid, or the road which is to be substituted therefor, to which description there shall be attached a map showing the location of the road or portion of road to be vacated and the road as relaid, or the road which is to be substituted therefor; and if within ten days after such application shall have been made as aforesaid, or if at the time of making such application there shall be presented to said court or judge the consent in writing of the owners of all the lands intersected by such old road or portion thereof proposed to be vacated, and of all the property intersected by the road as proposed to be relaid, or by the road which it is proposed to substitute therefor, and also the written consent of the township committee of the township wherein such road or roads do lie, that said application shall be granted, then it shall be lawful for said court or judge to cause said application, with the accompanying survey, map and return, and the written consents of the owners of lands as aforesaid, and of the township committee, to be filed with the clerk of the county, to be by him recorded in the book of roads for said county; and when said application and other papers shall have been so filed, such old road or portion thereof shall thereupon and thereby be deemed to be vacated, and the road as relaid, or the new road substituted therefor, shall thereupon and thereby be deemed and taken to be a public road. 168. Sec. 1. That whenever ten or more persons, being freeholders, shall think the vacation of a part of any public road necessary in any part of the county wherein they reside, they may make application in writing to the inferior court of common pleas of such county, or to one of the judges thereof, setting forth in writing the road or portion thereof which it is proposed to have vacated, describing the same by courses and distances, to which description there shall be attached a map showing the location of the road, or portion thereof to be vacated, and if within ten days after such application shall have been made as aforesaid, or if at the time of making such application, there shall be presented to said court or judge the consent in writing of the owners of all the lands by such old road or portion thereof proposed to be vacated, and also the written consent of the township committee of the township wherein such lands do lie, that such application shall be granted, then it shall be lawful for said court or judge to cause said application, with the accompanying survey, map and return, and the written consents of the owners of lands as aforesaid, and of the township committee, to be filed with the clerk of the county, to be by him recorded in the book of roads for said county, and when said application and papers have been so filed, such portion of such old road shall thereupon and thereby be deemed to be vacated; provided, that no portion of any old road proposed to be vacated under this act shall exceed one thousand yards in length. APPENDIX D. Number of tons of stone per mile required to build the following depths and widths. For the information of intending road-builders, we have compiled the following tables, which approximate the number of tons of thoroughly-rolled stone necessary to construct each mile at the designated depths and widths. The basis is 3,000 tons of loose stone or 3,500 tons of compressed stone for a road one mile long, sixteen feet wide and eight inches deep. A road eight inches deep, when finished, will have required at least ten inches of loose stone. It should be placed in two layers of five inches each, and each layer rolled down to four inches. Then the application of the three quarter inch and screenings will bring the road to the prescribed depth; for other thickness the stone should be placed in proportion to the intended finished depths. An observance of this rule will insure the contract thickness for the roadbed, and save the sometimes necessary expense of resurfacing before acceptance from the contractor. A road 8 feet wide and 4 inches deep will require...... 875 tons of stone per mile. ...... 3,281 |