Chapter 101.
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/statutes-at-large/vol-23/chapter-101-208546·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
CHAP. 101.— An act to give the assent of Congress to the construction of a free bridge by (lie mayor and city council of Nashville, Tennessee, over the Cumberland River, and for other purposes.June 20, 1884. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*,Bridge over the Cumberland River, Nashville, Tenn. That the city of Nashville, a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Tennessee, be, and is hereby, authorized to construct and maintain a bridge, and approaches thereto, over the Cumberland River at the most accessible point within the corporate limits of the said city of Nashville, county of Davidson, and State of Tennessee.
Said bridge shall be constructed to provide for the free passage of wagons and vehicles of all kinds, for the transit of animals, and for foot-passengers, and for such street railways as may be authorized by the city of Nashville to be constructed over the same. Sec. 2. That any bridge, built under this act and subject to its limitationsDeclared a lawful structure, and a post-route. shall be a lawful structure, and shall be recognized and known us a post route; and it shall enjoy the rights and privileges of other post-roads in the United States: *Provided*, That the United States may construct*Proviso*.
Right of way for postal telegraph. Spans. a postal telegraph over said bridge without charge therefor. Sec. 3. That if said bridge shall be made with unbroken and continuous spans, the spans thereof shall not be less than one hundred and sixty-four feet in length in the clear, and the main span shall be over the main channel of the river. The lowest part of the superstructure of said bridge shall be at least thirty-four feet above extreme high-water mark, as understood at the point of location, and the bridge shall be at right angles to and its piers parallel with the current of the river: *Provided*,*Proviso*.
Draw-pivot bridge. Spans. That if the same shall be c instructed as a drawbridge, the draw or pivot shall be over the main channel at an accessible point, and the spans shall not be less than one hundred and sixty feet in the clear, and the piers of said bridge shall be parallel with and the bridge itself at right angles to, the current of the river, and the spans shall not be less than ten feet above extreme high-water mark, as understood at the point of location, to the lowest part of the superstructure of said bridge: *Provided also*, That the said draw shall be opened promptly by said corporation*Proviso*.
Draw. upon reasonable signal for the passage of boats; and said corporation shall maintain, at its own expense, from sunset till sunrise, such lights or other signals on said bridge as the light-house BoardLights and signals. shall prescribe. No bridge shall be erected or maintained under the authority of this act which shall at any time substantially or materially obstruct the free navigation of said river; and if any bridge erectedFree navigation maintained. under such authority shall, in the opinion of the Secretary of War, obstruct such navigation, he is hereby authorized to cause such change or alteration of said bridge to be made as will effectually obviate such obstruction; and all such alterations shall be made and all such obstructions be removed at the expense of said city of Nashville; and in case of any litigation arising from any obstruction or alleged obstruction to the free navigation of said liver caused or alleged to be caused by said bridge, the case may be brought in the circuit court of the United States of the middle district of Tennessee in which any portion of said obstruction or bridge may be located: *Provided further*, That nothing in*Proviso*. 48 this act shall be so construed as to repeal or modify any of the provisions of law now existing in reference to the protection of the navigation of rivers or to exempt this bridge from the operations of the same.
Sec. 4. That any bridge authorized to be constructed under this act shall be built and located under and subject to such regulations for the security of navigation of said river as the Secretary of War shall Plans and location to be submitted to the Secretary of War for his approval.prescribe; and to secure that object the said corporation shall submit to the Secretary of War, for his examination and approval, a design and drawings of the bridge, and a map of the location, giving, for the space of one mile above and one mile below the proposed location, the topography of the banks of the river, the shorelines at high and low water, the direction and strength of the currents at all stages, and the soundings, accurately showing the bed of the stream, the location of any other bridge or bridges, and shall furnish such other information as may be required for a full and satisfactory understanding of the subject; and until the said plan and location of the bridge are approved by the Secretary of War the bridge shall not be built; and should any change be made in the plan of said bridge during the progress of construction, such change shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of War.
Sec. 5. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this act is hereby expressly reserved; and the right to require any changes in said structure, or its entire removal, at the expense of the owners thereof, whenever Congress shall decide that the public interest requires it, is also expressly reserved. Approved, June 20, 1884.