Chapter 358. to authorize the Talladega and Coosa Valley Railroad company of Alabama lo erect a bridge across the Coosa River
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CHAP. 358.— An Act to authorize the Talladega and Coosa Valley Railroad company of Alabama lo erect a bridge across the Coosa River.Mar. 3, 1887. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*,Talladega and Coosa Valley Railroad Company authorized to bridge Coosa River, Ala.Location. That the Talladega and Coosa Valley Railroad Company of Alabama, a corporation created and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the State of Alabama, be, and is hereby, authorized to erect and maintain a bridge across the Coosa River in township seventeen, range four east, in the Coosa kind-district, or at such point near said township as has been selected by said railroad company for crossing said river with their railroad line, the said bridge to be of such height as not to interfere with the navigation of *Proviso*.To be a lawful structure and post-route.said river: *Provided*, That any bridge constructed under this act and according to its limitations shall be a lawful structure, and shall be known and recognized as a post-route, and the same is hereby declared to be 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 Postal telegraph.Litigation.States, or for through passengers or freight passing over said bridge, than the rate per mile paid tor their transportation over the railroads leading to the said bridge; and the United States shall have the right of way for a postal telegraph and telephone lines across said bridge; and in ease of any litigation concerning any alleged obstruction to the free navigation of said river on account of said bridge, the cause may be tried before the circuit court of the United States of either of said States in which any portion of said obstruction Other companies may use.or bridge touches; and that all railway companies desiring to use the said bridge shall have and be entitled to equal rights and privileges in the passage over the same, and in the use of the machinery and fixtures Compensation.thereof and of all the approaches thereto, for a reasonable compensation to be paid to the. owners of said bridge, under and upon such terms Secretary of War to decide disagreements.and conditions as shall be prescribed by the Secretary of War upon healing the allegations and proofs of the parties in case they shall not agree.
Sec. 2. That said bridge shall be constructed as a pivot drawbridge,Draw. with a draw over the main channel of the river at an accessible and navigable point, and with spans of not less than seventy-five feet in length in the clear on each side of the central or pivot pier of the draw; and said spans shall not be less than ten feet above high-water mark, *Proviso*.Opening draw.measuring to the lowest member of the bridge superstructure: *And provided also*, That said draw shall be opened promptly, upon reasonable signal except when trains are passing over the said bridge, for the passage of the boats whose construction shall not be such as to admit of their passage under the draw of said bridge when closed; but in no case shall unnecessary delay occur in opening the said draw after the passage of trains; and the said company or corporation shall maintain, at Lights.its own expense, from sunset to sunrise, such lights or other signals on said bridge as the Light-House Board shall prescribe.
Sec. 3. That the plan and location of said bridge, with a detailedSecretary of War to approve plans, etc. map of the river at the proposed site of the bridge and near thereto, exhibiting the depths and currents, shall be submitted to the Secretary of War for his approval, and until he approve the plan and location of Changes.said bridge it shall not be built; but upon the approval of said plan by the Secretary of War the said company or corporation may proceed to the erection of said bridge in conformity with said approved plan; and should any change be made in the plan of said bridge during the progress of the work thereon, such change shall be subject likewise to the approval of the Secretary of War.
Sec. 4. That Congress reserves the right to alter, amend, or repealRight to amend, etc., reserved.Not to obstruct navigation. this act at any time; and that if at any time navigation of the said river shall in any manner be obstructed or impaired by the said bridge, the Secretary of War shall have authority, and it shall be his duty, to require the said railroad company to alter and change the said bridge, at its own expense, in such manner as may be proper to secure free and 505 complete navigation without impediment: and if upon reasonable notice to said railroad company to make such changes or improvements the said company fails to do so, the Secretary of War shall have authority to make the same at the expense of said company, and all the rights conferred by this act shall be forfeited; and Congress shall have power to do any and all things necessary to secure the tree navigation of the said river; and if said bridge shall not be finished within two years from the passage of this act, the rights and privileges hereby granted shall be null and void.
Approved, March 3, 1887.