Chapter 388.
675 words·~3 min read·
/statutes-at-large/vol-25/chapter-388-3528974·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
CHAP. 388.— An act to authorize the Montgomery and Sylacauga Railroad company to construct a bridge across the Tallapoosa River.March 2, 1889. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*,Montgomery and Sylacauga Railroad Company may bridge Tallapoosa River at Judkin s Ferry. Ala. That the Montgomery and Sylacauga Railroad Company, organized under the laws of the State of Alabama, be, and is hereby, authorized to construct and maintain a bridge, and approaches thereto, over the Tallapoosa Railway, wagon, and foot bridge.River at or near Judkin’s Ferry, in the State of Alabama.
Said bridge shall be constructed to provide for the passage of railway trains, and at the option of the corporation by which it may be built may be used for the passage of wagons and vehicles of all kinds, for the transit of animals, and for foot-passengers. Sec. 2. That any bridge built under this act and subject to its limitationsLawful structure and post-route. shall be a lawful structure, and shall be recognized arid known as a post-route, and it shall enjoy the rights and privileges of other post-roads in the United States, and equal privileges in the use of said bridge shall be granted to all telegraph and telephone companies;
Postal telegraph.and the United States shall have the right of way over said bridge for postal telegraph purposes. Sec. 3. That all railroad companies desiring the use of said bridgeUse by another companies. shall have and be entitled to equal rights and privileges relative to the passage of railway trains over the same, and over the approaches Compensation.thereto, upon the payment of a reasonable compensation for such use; and in case the owner or owners of said bridge and the several Secretary of War to decide.railroad companies, or any of them, desiring such use. shall fail to agree upon the sum or sums to be paid, and upon rules and conditions to which each shall conform in using said bridge, all matters at issue between them shall be decided by the Secretary of War upon a hearing of the allegations and proofs of the parties.
Sec. 4. That the bridge authorized to be constructed under thisSecretary of War to approve plans, etc. 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 company or 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 867 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 commenced or built, and should any change be made in the plan of said bridge during the progress of construction such, changes shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of War: and the expense of such change and of any other changes at any time required by the Secretary of War in said bridge, or its entire removal after being completed, if the Secretary deems the same necessary, shall be paid by the persons or corporation owning or controlling said bridge.
Sec. 5. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this act is herebyAmendment. expressly reserved. Sec. 6. That this act shall be null and void if actual constructionCommencement and completion. of the bridge herein authorized be not commenced within two years and completed within three years from the date thereof. Approved, March 2, 1889.