Chapter 594. authorizing the construction of railroad bridges across the Snake River and across the Clear Water River, by the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company
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CHAP. 594.— An Act authorizing the construction of railroad bridges across the Snake River and across the Clear Water River, by the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company.July 9, 1888. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*,Oregon Railway and Navigation Company may bridge Snake River, Wash., and Clear Water River, Idaho. That the assent of Congress is hereby given to the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company, a corporation incorporated and organized under the laws of the State of Oregon, and to its successors and assigns, to construct and maintain a bridge, and approaches thereto, across the Snake River, in the Territory of Washington, near Texas Ferry on said river; and also a bridge, and approaches thereto, across the Clear Water River, in the Territory of Idaho, between its mouth and the boundary-line of the Nez Perce Indian Reservation.
Said bridges shall be so constructed as to provide for the passage of railway trains, and, at the option of the said corporations, may be used for the passage of wagons Railway, wagon, and foot bridges.and vehicles of all kinds, for the transit of animals, and for foot-passengers, for reasonable rates of tolls to be fixed by said company. Sec. 2. That any bridge built under this act shall be constructed asDraw. a pivot drawbridge, with a draw over the main channel at an accessible and the best navigable point, and with spans giving a clear waterway, measured at the lowest stage of water known at the locality, of such width and height as the Secretary of War may, upon examination, prescribe; and the lowest part of the superstructure of the bridge shall be of such elevation above the plane of the highest flood known at the locality as the Secretary of War may deem advisable, and provision shall also be made in the location and construction of abutments and approaches to allow the free passage of flood water: and the piers of said bridges shall be parallel to and the bridges shall be at right *Proviso*.Opening draw.angles to the current of the river: *Provided*, That the draw shall be opened promptly upon reasonable signal for the passage of boats and other watercraft, except when trains are passing over the draw; but in no case shall unnecessary delay occur in opening the draw during or after Lights.the passage of trains; and said corporation shall maintain, at its own expense, from sunset to sunrise, such lights and other signals on said bridges as the Light-House Board shall prescribe; and said corporation shall provide, at its own expense, such sheer-booms, guide-piers, and other device as may be necessary to facilitate the safe passage of boats or other watercraft through the spans of said bridges.
The said bridges shall be located and built under and subject to such regulations for the security of the navigation of said rivers as the Secretary of War approve plans, etc.Secretary of War shall prescribe: and to secure that object the said company shall submit to the Secretary of War, for his examination and approval, a design and drawings of each of said bridges and a map of the location, giving, for the space of one mile below and one mile above the proposed location, the topography of the banks of the river, the shorelines at high and low water, the direction and strength FIFTIETH CONGRESS.
Sess. I. Chs. 594, 595. 1888.245 of the current at all stages, and the soundings, accurately showing the bed and channel of the stream, and shall furnish such other information as shall be required for a full and satisfactory understanding of the subject; and until the said location and plans of the bridges hereby authorized to be constructed are approved by the Secretary of War. the said bridges shall not be built; and should any change be made in the plan of either of such bridges during the progress of construction thereof, such change shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of War: and in case of any litigation arising from theLitigation. obstruction or alleged obstruction caused by said bridges, or either of them, to the free navigation of said river, the cause may be tried before the circuit court of the United States in whose jurisdiction any portion of the bridge is located.
Sec. 3. That the bridges authorized to be constructed under thisLawful structures and post-routes. act shall be lawful structures, 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, troops, and the munitions of war of the United States, or for through railway passengers or freight passing over said bridges, than the rate per mile for their transmission over the railroads leading to said bridges; and equal privileges in the use of said bridges shall be granted to all telegraph companies; and the United States shall have the right of way across said bridges and their approaches for postal-telegraph purposes.Postal telegraph.
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, and over the approaches thereto, upon 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 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 he decided by the Secretary of WarSecretary of War to decide terms. upon a hearing of the allegations and proofs of the parties.
Sec. 5. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this act, so as toAmendment. prevent or remove all material and substantial obstructions to the navigation of said rivers by the construction of the said bridges, is hereby expressly reserved; and any alterations or changes that may be required by Congress in the bridges constructed under this act shall be made by the corporation owning or controlling the same at its own expense: and if either of said bridges shall not be commencedCommencement and completion. in one year and be finished within three years from the passage of this act, the rights and privileges hereby granted as to such bridge shall be mill and void.
Approved, July 9, 1888.