Chapter 629. authorizing the Little Rock and Alexandria Railway Company to maintain and construct a bridge across Bayou D‘Arbonne, in Louisiana
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CHAP. 629.— An Act authorizing the Little Rock and Alexandria Railway Company to maintain and construct a bridge across Bayou D‘Arbonne, in Louisiana.July 16, 1888. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*,Little Rock and Alexandria Railway Company may bridge Bayou D’Arbonne at Farmerville, La. That the Little Rock and Alexandria Railway Company, in Louisiana, and Arkansas, a corporation duly and legally organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the States of Louisiana and Arkansas, be, and 308FIFTIETH CONGRESS.
Sess. I. Ch. 629. 1888. is hereby, authorized to construct and maintain a bridge, and approaches thereto, over Bayou D’Arbonne. in UnionParish, Louisiana, near the town of Farmerville, at the point where said company’s line of railway as now projected crosses said bayou, or at such point as may be selected by said company. Said bridge shall be constructed Railway, wagon, and toot bridge.to provide for the passage of rail way trains, and at the option of said company 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 if said bridge over the said Bayou D’Arbonne shallSpans. be constructed with unbroken and continuous spans, there shall be at least one span of a height of not less than eighty feet above low water or fifty feet above highest water measured to the lowest part of the superstructure of said bridge, and said span shall have a clear opening of at least one hundred feet between the piers, measured at right angles to the current at every stage, and shall be over that portion of the bayou used by boats during the ordinary stages of water; and the bridge shall be at right angles to, and the piers parallel with, the current of the bayou.
And if the said bridge over the said Bayou Draw.D’Arbonne shall be constructed as a draw-bridge, the draw or pivot shall be over the main channel of the bayou at an accessible navigable point, and the opening on each side of the pivot pier shall be not less than one hundred feet in the clear; and as nearly as practicable both of said openings shall be accessible at all stages of water, and the spans shall be not less than ten feet above extreme high water, as understood at the point of location, to the lowest part of the superstructure of the bridge, and the piers and draw-rests shall be parallel with, and the bridge itself at right angles to, the current of the bayou at that stage of the bayou which is most important for navigation; and no riprap or other outside protection for imperfect foundations shall be permitted to approach nearer than four feet to the surface of the water at its extreme low stage, or otherwise to Opening draw.encroach upon the channel-ways provided for in this act.
Said draw shall be opened promptly upon reasonable signal for the passing of boats; and said company shall maintain, at its own expense, from Lights, etc.sunset till sunrise, such lights or other signals on said bridge as the Light-House Board may prescribe. Sec. 3. That said bridge built under this act and subject to itsLawful 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 the munitions of war of the United States than the rate per mile paid for the transportation over the railroad or public highways leading to the 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 Postal telegraph.Changes.its approaches for postal telegraph purposes.
Sec. 4. That if said bridge erected or maintained under the authority of this act shall at any time substantially or materially obstruct the free navigation of said bayou, or shall, in the opinion of the Secretary of War. obstruct such navigation, he is hereby authorized to cause such change or alteration of such bridge to be made as will effectually obviate such obstruction; and such alteration 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 or alleged 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 of the State of Louisiana in whose jurisdiction any portion of said obstruction or bridge may be *Provisos*.located: *Provided*, That nothing in this act shall be so construed as FIFTIETH CONGRESS.
Sess. I. Chs. 629, 630. 1888.309 to repeal or modify any of the provisions of law now existing in referenceExisting laws. to the protection of the navigation of rivers, or to exempt said bridge from the operation of the same. 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 over the same, and over the approaches thereto, upon payment of a reasonable compensation for such use.Compensation.
And if the rate of compensation can not be agreed upon by the parties, the same shall be fixed by the Secretary of War. Sec. 6. 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 bayou 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 said 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 bayou, 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 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 change shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of War,Changes. and said structure shall be changed, at the cost and expense of the owners thereof, from time to time, as Congress may direct, so as to preserve the free and convenient navigation of said bayou; and the authority to erect and continue said bridge shall be subject to revocation by law whenever the public good shall, in the judgment of Congress, so require.
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 of this act being approved. Sec. 8. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this act is herebyAmendment. expressly reserved. Approved, July 16, 1888.