Chapter 299. granting to the city of Grand Forks, Dakota, the right to build two free bridges across Red River
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CHAP. 299.— An Act granting to the city of Grand Forks, Dakota, the right to build two free bridges across Red River.May 21, 1888. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*,Grand Forks. Dak., may bridge Red River of the North. That the city of Grand Forks, a municipal corporation organized under the laws of the Territory of Dakota, be, and the same is hereby, authorized by its proper officers to construct and maintain either one or two bridges and approaches thereto over the Red River of the North, at the most accessible points within said city across said river to the most convenient point or points in the State of Minnesota.
Said bridgeFree street railway, wagon, and foot bridge. or bridges shall be constructed to provide for the free passage of wagons and vehicles of all kinds, for the transit of animals, for foot passengers and for such street railways as may be authorized by the city of Grand Forks to be constructed over the same. Sec. 2. That any bridge built under this act and subject to itsTo be a lawful structure and post-route. limitations shall be a lawful structure, and shall be recognized as a post-route and shall enjoy the rights and privileges of other postroads in the United States: *Provided*, That the United States may*Proviso*.Postal telegraph. construct a postal telegraph over said bridge or bridges without charge therefor.
Sec. 3. That any bridge built under this act shall be constructedDraw.*Post*, p.756. as a pivot drawbridge, with a draw over the main channel at an accessible and the best navigable point, and with draw-spans giving a clear waterway, measured at the lowest stage of water Known at the locality, of not less than eighty feet in the clear on each side of the central or pivot pier: and the clear width, as herein provided for, shall not be reduced by deposits of riprap or by other material about the piers and abutments; and the spans shall not be of less elevation than three feet above extreme high-water mark, as known at the point of location, measured to the lowest part of the superstructure of said bridge: and provision shall be made in the location and construction of the abutments and approaches to allow the free passage of floodwater: and the piers of said bridge shall be parallel to, and the bridge itself at right angles to the direction of the current of said stream: *Provided, also*, That the said draw, or draws, shall be opened*Provisos*. 154FIFTIETH CONGRESS.
Sess. I. Ch. 299. 1888. promptly by said corporation, upon reasonable signal, for the passage ofLights, etc. boats, and said city shall maintain, at its own expense, such lights or other signals thereon as the Light House Board may prescribe, and said city shall provide at its own expense such sheer-booms, guide piers, or other device as may be at any time deemed necessary by the Secretary of War to facilitate the safe passage of boats or other water craft through the spans of said bridge.
No bridge shall be erected or maintained under authority Unobstructed navigation.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 said navigation, he is hereby authorized to cause such change or alteration of said bridge to be made as will effectually obviate Litigation.such obstruction, at the expense of said city of Grand Forks, and in case of any litigation arising from any obstruction, or alleged obstruction, to the free navigation of said river, caused, or alleged to be caused, by said bridges, or either, the case may be brought in the circuit court of the United States of the district in which said obstruction or bridges are located: *Provided further*, That nothing in this act shall be so construed as to repeal or modify anyExisting laws. of the provisions of law now existing in reference to the protection of the navigation of rivers, or to exempt any bridge or bridges constructed by virtue hereof from the operations of the same.
Sec. 4. That any bridge or bridges authorized to be constructedSecretary of War to approve plans, etc. 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 prescribe; and to secure that object the said corporation shall submit to the Secretary of War, for his examination and approval, designs and drawings of the proposed bridges and a map of the location, giving, for the space of one mile above and one mile below the proposed locations, the topography of the banks of the river, the shore lines 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 bridges, and shall furnish such other information as may be required for a full and satisfactory understanding of the subject; and until the said plans and locations, or either of them, are approved by the Secretary of War there shall not be any bridge built at said point; and should any change be made in the plan of said bridge or bridges, during the progress of construction, such change shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of War.
Sec. 5. That the said city of Grand Forks, in the Territory of Dakota.Issue of construction bonds. is hereby authorized and empowered to issue in due form its municipal bonds to an amount not exceeding fifty thousand dollars, payable in twenty years, with interest at seven per centum annually, at said city’s depository in Grand Forks. Dakota, for the purpose of defraying the necessary expenses, in whole or in part, for the erection of said bridge or bridges, and all acts or parts of acts of Congress or of the legislative assembly of said Territory of Dakota heretofore passed in conflict with this section be, and the same are hereby, repealed.
Sec. 6. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this act is herebyAmendment, etc. expressly reserved, and the right to require any changes in such structure or structures, or the entire removal thereof, at the expense of the owners, whenever Congress shall decide that the public interest requires it. is also expressly reserved. Sec. 7. That this act shall be null and void if actual constructionCommencement and completion. of the bridges herein authorized be not commenced within one year, and completed within three years, from the date thereof.
Approved, May 21, 1888.