Chapter 345.
950 words·~4 min read·
/statutes-at-large/vol-24/chapter-345-231652·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
CHAP. 345.— An act to give the assent of Congress to the construction of a bridge by the Nashville, Jackson and Memphis Railroad Company over the Tennessee River.May 17, 1886. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*,Nashville, Jackson and Memphis Railroad Company authorized to bridge the Tennessee River, in Tennessee. That the assent of Congress is hereby given to the Nashville, Jackson and Memphis Railroad Company, a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Tennessee, to construct and maintain a bridge, and approaches thereto, over the Tennessee River, at a point in the counties of Perry and Decatur, in said State of Tennessee, where it is most practicable (to be determined by actual survey) for said railroad to cross said river.
Said bridge shall be constructed to provide for the passage of the locomotives, passenger and freight trains, and other rolling-stock of said Nashville, Jackson and Memphis Railroad Company over the same. Sec. 2. That any bridge built under the provisions of this act and subjectTo be a lawful structure and post-route. to its limitations shall be a lawful structure, and recognized and known as a post-route; and it shall enjoy the rights and privileges of other post-roads in the United States: *Provided*, That the United*Proviso*.
States may construct a postal telegraph over said bridge without charge Postal telegraph.therefor. Sec. 3, That if said bridge shall be built with unbroken and continuousSpans. spans, the spans thereof shall be of such width and height above the water as may be prescribed by the Secretary of War: *Provided*, *Provisos*.That the same shall not be less than one hundred and sixty-fourDimensions. feet each in the clear; and the main span shall be over the main channel of 54 the river, and the bridge shall be at right angles to and its piers parallel with the current of the river: *Provided*, That if the same shall be Draw.constructed as a drawbridge, the draw or pivot span shall be over the main channel at an accessible point, and the span shall be of such width and height above the water as may be prescribed by the Dimensions.Secretary of War: *Provided*, That said draw or pivot spans shall not be less than one hundred and sixty-four feet in the clear on each side of the draw or pivot pier; and the piers of said bridge shall be parallel with and the bridge itself at right angles to the current of the river: *Provided also*,Protection to navigation.
That the said draw shall be opened promptly by said corporation upon reasonable signal for the passage of boats; that sheer-booms shall be constructed by said corporation;Lights. and that said corporation shall maintain, at its own expense, from sunset to sunrise, such lights or other signals on said bridge as the Light House Board shall prescribe.Free navigation not to be obstructed. 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 erected 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 such 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 corporation; and in case of any litigationLitigation. arising from any obstruction or alleged obstruction to the free navigation of said river, caused or alleged to be caused by said bridge, the case may be brought in the circuit court of the United States in whose jurisdiction any portion of said obstruction or bridge may be located: *Provided further*, That nothing in 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 the bridge herein authorized to be constructed from the operations of the same.
Sec. 4. That any bridge authorized to be constructed under the provisionsPlans, etc., subject to approval of Secretary of War. of 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 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 a 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 herebyRight to amend, etc., reserved. 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, May 17, 1886.