Chapter XXVIII. to authorize the Construction of a Bridge across the Missouri Stiver at or near St
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CHAP. XXVIII.— An Act to authorize the Construction of a Bridge across the Missouri Stiver at or near St. Joseph, Missouri.March 5, 1872. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,* That[Amended 1872, ch. 130. *Post,* p. 58.]Bridge across the Missouri River at or near St. Joseph;railway tracks;ways for foot-passengers, wagons, &c.;all trains of all railroads may use the bridge.Tolls. it shall be lawfid for “The St.
Joseph Bridge Building Company,” a corporation organized for that purpose under the general corporation laws of the State of Missouri, to construct a bridge across the Missouri river at or near Saint Joseph, Missouri, and to lay on and over said bridge railway tracks for the more perfect connection of any and all railways that are now, or which may hereafter be, constructed to the Missouri river at or near Saint Joseph, or to the river on the opposite side of the same, near Saint Joseph; and build, erect, and lay on and over said bridge ways for wagons, vehicles of all kinds, and for the transit of animals, and to provide ways for foot-passengers, and to keep up, maintain, and operate said bridge for the purposes aforesaid; and that when said bridge is constructed, all trains of all railroads terminating at said river, and on the opposite side thereof, at or near Saint Joseph, Missouri, shall be allowed to cross said bridge for reasonable compensation, to be made to the owners of the same, under the limitations and conditions hereafter named.
The owners of said bridge may also charge and receive reasonable compensation or tolls, for the transit, over the said bridge of all wagons, carriages, vehicles, animals, and foot-passengers. Sec. 2. ThatBridges may be built as a draw-bridge or with unbroken spans;height of bridge and length of spans. any bridge built under the provisions of this act may, at the option of the person or persons, or corporation building the same, be built as a draw-bridge, with a pivot or other form of draw, or with unbroken or continuous spans: *Provided,* That if the same shall be made of unbroken continuous spans, it shall not be of less elevation in any case than fifty feet above extreme high-water mark, as understood at the point of34FORTY-SECOND CONGRESS.
Sess. II. Ch. 28. 1872. location,Piers;main span.Pivot draw-bridge;spans; to the bottom chord of the bridge, nor shall the spans of said bridge be less than three hundred and fifty feet in length, and the piers of said bridge shall he parallel with the current of the river, and the main span shall be over the main channel of the river and not less than three hundred feet in length: *And provided also,* That if a bridge shall be built under this act as a draw-bridge, the same shall be constructed as a pivot draw-bridge, with a draw over the main channel of the river at an accessible and navigable point, and with spans of not less than one hundred and sixty feet in length in the clear on each side of the central or pivot pier of the draw, and the next adjoining spans to the draw shall not be less than two hundred and fifty feet; and said spans shall not be less than thirty feet above low-water mark, and not less than ten feet above extreme high-water mark, measuring to the bottom chord of the bridge, and the piers of said bridge shall be parallel with the current of the river: *And provided also,*to be opened promptly, except, &c.
That said draw shall be opened promptly, upon reasonable signal, for the passage of boats whose construction shall not be such as to admit of their passage under the permanent spans of said bridge, except when trains are passing over the same, but in no case shall unnecessary delay occur in opening the said draw during or after the passage of trains: *And provided further,*Permanent, channel may be made and maintained. That the corporation building said bridge may, if not unauthorized by the provisions of its charter of incorporation, enter upon the banks of said river, either above or below the point of the location of said bridge, for a distance of seven miles, and erect and maintain breakwaters or use such other means as may be necessary to make a channel for said river, and confine the flow of the water to a permanent channel, and to do whateverNavigation not to be impeded.Plans to be approved by the Secretary of War. may be necessary to accomplish said object, but shall not impede or obstruct the navigation of the said river; and all plans for such works or erections upon the banks of the river shall first be submitted to the Secretary of War for his approval.
Sec. 3. ThatBridge to be a lawful structure and post-route.Charges. any bridge built under this act, and according to its limitations, shall be a lawful structure, and shall he recognized and known as a post-route, upon which, also, no higher charge shall be made for the transmission over the same of the mails, the troops, and the munitions of war of the United States than the rate per mile paid for their transportation over the railroads or public highways leading to the said bridge.
Sec. 4. ThatLitigation, if any, on account ofthe obstruction to navigation, to be had in what courts.This act may be altered, &c.Plan of bridge to be approved by Secretary of War. in ease of any litigation arising from any obstruction, or alleged obstruction, to the free navigation of the Missouri river, at or near the crossing of said bridge, and caused or alleged to be caused thereby, the cause shall be commenced and tried in the district courts of either judicial districts of Missouri or Kansas in which the said bridge or any portion of such obstruction touches; and the right to alter or amend this act so as to prevent or remove all material obstructions to the navigation of said river by the construction of said bridge is hereby expressly reserved. and all such alterations, when required by law, shall be made at the expense of said bridge company: and the plan on which such bridge is intended to be built and shall be built shall be first submitted to and approved by the Secretary of War.
Sec. 5. ThatSaint Joseph bridge building company not to assign its charter;1870, ch. 260.Vol. xvi. p. 275. the Saint Joseph Bridge Building Company, after the passage of this act, shall not have the right to assign the charter which said company now holds by assignment from the Saint Joseph and Denver City Railroad Company, and which was granted to said last-named company by virtue of an act of Congress, approved July fourteenth, eighteen hundred and seventy, to any other company, person, or peinons; nor shall said bridge building company be permitted, under the said charter so obtained as aforesaid, from the Saint Joseph and Denver City Railroad Company,nor construct any other bridge. to construct any other bridge, than the one now beiug constructed at Saint Joseph, Missouri.
Approved, March 5, 1872.