Chapter 422. to authorize the construction of a bridge across the Mississippi River at Hickman, Kentucky
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CHAP. 422.— An Act to authorize the construction of a bridge across the Mississippi River at Hickman, Kentucky.June 19, 1888. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*,Paducah and Hickman Railroad and Bridge Company may bridge Mississippi, River at Hickman, Ky. That the Paducah and Hickman Railroad and Bridge Company, a corporation created and organized under and by virtue of the laws of the State of Kentucky, its successors and assigns, be, and the same are hereby, authorized and empowered to erect, construct, and maintain a bridge over the Mississippi River from a point at or near the city of Hickman, in the State of Kentucky, to a point opposite thereto in the State of Missouri.
Said bridge shall be constructed toRailway, wagon, and foot bridge. 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, for such reasonable rates of toll as may be approved from time to time by the Secretary of War. Sec. 2. That any bridge built under this act and subject to its Lawful structure and post-route.limitations shall be a lawful structure, and shall be recognized and known as a post-route, upon which also no higher charge shall be made for the transmission over the same of the mails, the troops, and munitions of war of the United States than the rate per mile paid for the transportation over the railroad or public highways leading to said bridge, 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 companies; and the United States shall have the right of way across said bridge and its approaches for postal telegraph purposes.Postal telegraph. 196FIFTIETH CONGRESS.
Sess. I. Ch. 422. 1888. Sec. 3. That the said bridge shall be made with unbroken andSpans. continuous spans. Before approving the plans for said bridge, the Secretary of War shall order three engineer officers from the Engineer Bureau to be detailed to the duty of examining, by actual inspection, the locality where said bridge is to be built, and to report what shall be the length of the main channel span and of the *Provisos*.Channel span.other spans: *Provided*, That the main channel span shall in no event be less than seven hundred feet in length, or the other spans less than six hundred and fifty feet each in length; and if the report of said officers shall be approved by the Secretary of War the spans of said bridge shall be of the length so required.
The lowest part of the superstructure of said bridge shall be at least eighty-five 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. No bridge shall be erected or maintained under the authority of this act which shall at any time Unobstructed navigation.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 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 the owner or owners of said bridge; and in case of any litigation arising from any 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 within whose jurisdiction any portion of said obstruction or bridge may be located: *Provided further*, That nothing in this act shall be so construed as Existing laws.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 same.
Sec. 4. That all railroad companies desiring the use of said bridgeOther companies may use. shall have, and be entitled to, equal rights and privileges relative to the passage of railway trains or cars over the same, upon the payment of a reasonable compensation for such use; and in case the owner or owners of said bridge and the several railroad companies, or any one 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 Secretary of War to decide terms.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. 5. That any bridge authorized to be constructed under this actSecretary of War to approve plans, etc. shall be built and located under and subject to such regulations for the security of the navigation of said river as the Secretary of War shall prescribe, and to secure that object the said companies or corporations shall submit to the Secretary of War. for his examination and approval, a design and drawing of the bridge and maps of the location, giving for the space of two miles above and two miles below the proposed location, the topography of the banks of the river, the shorelines at extreme 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 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 plans of said bridge during the progress of construction, such change shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of War.
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 said structure, or its entire removal at the expense of the owners, when- FIFTIETH CONGRESS. Sess. I. Chs. 422, 423. 1888.197 ever Congress shall decide that the public interest requires it, is also expressly reserved. Sec. 7. That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of War, on satisfactoryAids to navigation. proof that a necessity exists therefor, to require the company or persons owning said bridge to cause such aids to the passage to be constructed, placed, and maintained, at their own cost and expense, in the form of booms, dikes, piers, or other suitable and proper structures for the guiding of rafts, steamboats, and other watercraft safely through the passageway, as shall be specified in his order in that behalf; and on failure of the company or persons aforesaid to make and establish such additional structures within a reasonable time, the said Secretary shall proceed to cause the same to be built or made at the expense of the United States, and shall refer the matter without delay to the Attorney-General of the United States, whose duty it shall be to institute, in the name of the United States, proceedings in any circuit court of the United States within whose jurisdiction such bridge, or any part thereof is located, for the recovery of the amount so expended by the Government and all costs of such proceedings; and all moneys accruing from such proceedings shall be covered into the Treasury of the United States.
Sec. 8. That if the construction of the bridge hereby authorizedCommencement and completion. shall not be commenced within one year from the time this act takes effect, and be completed within three years after its commencement, then this act shall be void, and all rights hereby conferred shall cease and determine. Approved, June 19, 1888.