Chapter 622. to authorize the Columbia River Bridge Company to construct and maintain a bridge across the Columbia River between the State of Oregon and the Territory of Washington, and to establish it as a post-road
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CHAP. 622.— An Act to authorize the Columbia River Bridge Company to construct and maintain a bridge across the Columbia River between the State of Oregon and the Territory of Washington, and to establish it as a post-road.July 16, 1888. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*,Columbia River Bridge Company may bridge Columbia River at La Camas, Wash. Ter. That it shall be lawful for the Columbia River Bridge Company, a corporation created and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the State of Oregon, or its assigns, to erect, construct, and maintain a bridge over the Columbia River from La Camas in the Territory of Washington to a point on the westerly shore of the Sandy River in the State of Oregon.
Said bridge shall be constructed to provide for the passage of the railway trains, and at the option of the corporation, or its Rail way, wagon, and foot bridge.assigns, by which it may be built, may be used for the passage of wagons and vehicles of all kinds, for the transit of animals, foot passengers, and of all kinds of commerce, travel, or communication. Sec. 2. That any bridge built under the act and subject to its limitations Lawful structure and post route.shall be a lawful structure, and shall he recognized and known as a post-route upon which also no charges shall be made for the transmission over the same of the mails, the troops, and the munitions of war of the United States, or for passengers or freight passing over said bridge 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 FIFTIETH CONGRESS. Sess. I. Ch. 622. 1888.297 shall be granted to all telegraph companies; and the United StatesPostal telegraph. shall have the right of way across said bridge and its approaches for postal telegraph purposes. Sec. 3. That said bridge may be constructed as a draw-bridge,Draw. with an opening over the center of the channel of such width as the Secretary of War shall determine, and which shall be at least one hundred and twenty feet in the clear: *Provided, also*, That said draw shall*Proviso*.Opening draw. be opened promptly upon reasonable signal for the passage of boats, vessels, or other watercraft, and in no case shall unnecessary delay occur; and said company or corporation shall maintain. at its own expense, from sunset to sunrise, such lights or other signals on said bridge as the Light-House Board shall prescribe, and such sheer-booms or otherLights, etc. structures as may be necessary to safely guide vessels, boats, rafts, or other watercraft safely through said draw openings as shall be designated and required by the Secretary of War.
Sec. 4. That said bridge shall be built and located under and subjectSecretary of War to approve plans, etc. 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 current at all stages, and the sounding, accurately showing the bed of the stream, 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 are approved by the Secretary of War the bridge shall not be built, and should any changes be made in the plan of said bridge during the progress of construction, such change shall be submitted to the approval of the Secretary of War.
Sec. 5. That all railroad companies, desiring the use of said bridge,Other companies may use. shall have and be entitled to equal rights and privileges relative to the passage of railway trains, engines, 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 one of them, desiring such use, 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 WarSecretary of War to decide terms.*Proviso.*Determining rates. upon a hearing of the allegations and proofs of the parties: *Provided*, That the provisions of section two, in regard to charges for passengers and freight across said bridge, shall not govern the secretary of War in determining any question arising as to the sum, or sums, to be paid to the owners of said bridge by such railroad companies for the use of said bridge.
Sec. 6. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this act. or to requireAmendment, etc. any changes in such structure, or its entire removal at the expense of the owners thereof whenever the Secretary of War shall decide that the public interest requires it, and the right to prescribe such rules and regulations in regard to toll and otherwise, as may be deemed reasonable, are expressly reserved. Sec. 7. That this act shall be null and void if actual constructionCommencement and completion. of the bridge herein authorized be not commenced within one year and completed within three years from the date thereof.
Approved, July 16, 1888.