Chapter 1131.
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CHAP. 1131.— An act to authorize the Canaveral and South Florida Railroad Company to construct and maintain a bridge across the Indian River and one across the Banana River, both in the State of Florida, and to establish the same, in each case, as a post-road.September 30, 1890. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*,Canaveral and South Florida Railroad Company may bridge Indian and Banana Rivera, Fla. That the Canaveral and South Florida Railroad Company, a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Florida, its successors and assigns, be, and is hereby, authorized to construct and maintain a bridge across the Indian River, and also one across the Banana River, in each case at a place suitable to commerce and not interfering with navigation,Location. at such point as may be approved by the Secretary of War, and to lay on or over said bridges a track or tracks for the more perfectTracks. connection of any railroad or railroads that are or shall be constructed to said rivers on either or both sides thereof, at or opposite said points, under the limitations and conditions hereinafter provided.Conditions, etc.Free navigation.Litigation.
Said bridges shall not interfere with the free navigation of said rivers, and in case of any litigation arising from any obstruction or alleged obstruction to the free navigation of said rivers by reason of the construction of said bridges the cause may be tried before the circuit court of the United States in and for any district in whose jurisdiction any portion of said obstruction or bridges may be. Said bridges shall be constructed to provide for the passage of railroadRailroad, or railroad, wagon and foot bridges. trains, and, at the option of the said company or corporation, its successors and assigns, for the safe and convenient passage of wagons and vehicles of all kinds, animals and foot-passengers, for such reasonable rates of toll as may be fixed from time to time by theToll.
Secretary of War. Sec. 2. That each of said bridges shall be provided with two orDraw-openings. more draw-openings, each having not less than two hundred feet clear channel-way, and, in addition to said draw-openings, one or more fixed channel-spans, each having not less than three hundredChannel-spans. and fifty feet clear channel-way; and every part of the superstructure of said bridges shall give a clear head room of not less than tenHead room.*Provisos*.Location of spans and one draw-opening. feet above extreme high-water mark: *Provided*, That all spans shall be so located as to afford the greatest possible accommodation to the river traffic, and a draw-opening shall, if practicable, be located next or near shore: *Provided, also*, That if the physical characteristics ofReduction of fixed spans and draw-openings. the locality so require, and the interests of navigation be not injured thereby, the lengths of the fixed spans or the number of draw-openings may be reduced: *Provided, also*, That for any two adjacentSubstitute draw-opening. draw-openings of two hundred feet each one draw-opening of three hundred feet may be substituted if, in the opinion of the Secretary of War, the interests of navigation be not injured thereby.
Sec. 3. That all draw-spans authorized by this act shall be operatedOperating power. by steam or other reliable mechanical power, and shall be opened promptly upon reasonable signal for the passage of boats, exceptOpening of draws. when trains are passing over said span or spans; out in no case shall unnecessary delay occur in opening said draw after the passage of trains; and also, that in case the opening of a draw is delayed by reason of the passing of a train after the signal has been given from a boat ready to pass through, the draw shall be opened for the passage of such boat before another train is allowed to pass over the 556FIFTY-FIRST CONGRESS.
Sess. I. Ch. 1131. 1890. said span or spans; nor shall there be any unnecessary delay in the Passage of trains.Construction of piers, accessory works, etc.passage of trains over the bridges. Sec. 4. That all piers shall be built parallel with the current of the river at that stage of water which is most important for navigation: and the bridges themselves shall be built as nearly as may be Obstructions to navigation.at right angles thereto: and that riprapping or other protection for imperfect foundations which will lessen the required waterway shall not be permitted; and also that piers which will produce crosscurrents or bars dangerous to navigation shall not be constructed; and if after construction any piers or accessory works are found to produce the above-mentioned effects, or if any riprapping or other protection prohibited by this section is found to exist, the nuisance shall be abated or corrected under the direction of the Secretary of War, and at the expense of the company or persons owning, controlling, or operating said bridges.
Sec. 5. That the approaches to said bridges shall be so designedApproaches. and constructed as not to interfere with the free discharge of said Encroachments by piers, etc.river in seasons of flood: and any encroachment on the high-water cross-section by piers, solid embankments, or otherwise which will result in unduly accelerating the high-water current at the site of the bridges shall not be allowed. Sec. 6. That any corporation, company, or persons owning, Aids to navigation.controlling, or operating the bridges built under the authority of this act shall build and maintain at all times, as accessory works to such bridges, such booms, piers, dikes, guard-fences, and similar devices as may be necessary to insure at all times a permanent channel for a sufficient distance above and below the bridge sites, and for the guiding of rafts, steamboats, and other watercraft safely under or Additional aids.through said bridges; and if at any time after the construction of the bridges and their accessory works the approaches to draw-openings, channel-spans, or raft passages in said bridges are found to be dangerous or difficult of access by any important class of river traffic the Secretary of War may, upon the recommendation of the Chief of Engineers, United States Army, order the corporation, company, or persons owning, controlling, or operating said bridges to construct under his directions and to maintain such additional sheer-booms, dikes, and other devices as will obviate the difficulty mentioned, which additional sheer-booms, dikes, and other devices shall be built and maintained at their own expense by said company or persons; and that said company or persons shall maintain at their own expense, from sunset to sunrise throughout the season of navigation, Lights, etc.such lights and other signals on said bridges as may be required by the Light-House Board for the security of navigation.
Sec. 7. That the bridges authorized to be constructed by this actSecurity of navigation.Secretary of War to approve location, plans, etc. shall be located and built under and subject to such regulations for the security of navigation of said rivers as the Secretary of War shall prescribe; and to secure that object said corporation shall submit for his examination a design and drawings of the bridges, piers, approaches, and accessory works, and a map of each location, giving, for a space of at least three miles above and one mile below the proposed locations, the topography of the banks of the rivers and the Maps.shorelines at high and low water.
These maps shall be accompanied by others, drawn on the scale of one inch to two hundred feet, giving, for a space of one-half a mile above the line of the proposed bridges and one-quarter of a mile below, an accurate representation of the bottoms of the rivers, by contour lines two feet apart, determined by accurate soundings, and also showing over the whole width of this part of the rivers the force and directions of the currents at low water, at high water, and at least one intermediate stage, by triangulated observations on suitable floats.
The maps shall also show the location of other bridges in the vicinity, and shall give such information as the Secretary of War may require for a full and satis- 557 factory understanding of the subject, and the construction of the proposed bridges shall not be commenced until the location and plans thereof are approved by the Secretary of War. Sec. 8. That any bridges constructed under the authority of thisGeneral supervision. act shall be built under the general supervision of the Secretary of War, and no changes or alterations in plans shall be made duringChanges in plans. the construction of said bridges or after their completion, unless said changes or alterations conform to the provisions of this act and are authorized by the Secretary of War; that such alterations and changes as may be required by the Secretary of War in said bridgesStructural changes. so as to preserve free and convenient navigation shall be made under the direction of the Secretary of War at their own expense by the company or persons owning, controlling, or operating said bridges; that during original construction or in carrying out any authorizedSecurity of navigation while building, etc. changes or repairs of said bridges a navigable channel shall be preserved at the site of the bridges at all times, and the waterway of the river shall not be obstructed to a greater extent than is absolutely necessary; and such lights and buoys shall be kept on all coffer-dams,Lights and buoys. piles, and so forth, as may be necessary for the security of navigation.
Sec. 9. That whenever the Secretary of War has good reason toSecretary of War to enforce safety of navigation, etc.*Ante*, p. 556. believe that any of the provisions of sections four, six, and eight of this act have not been complied with by the company or persons owning, controlling, or operating the bridges authorized under its provisions, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of War, on satisfactory proof thereof, to require the said company or persons to comply with the provisions of said sections; and on failure of said persons or company to comply with said requirements within a reasonable time the Secretary of War shall proceed to cause the necessary work, in the form of additions, alterations, repairs, or removal of obstructions, to be made at the expense of the United States and shall refer the matter, without delay, to the Attorney-GeneralLitigation, etc. of the United States, whose duty it shall be to institute, in the name of the United States, proceedings in the circuit court of the United States in and for the district in which any portion of said obstructions or bridges may be, for the recovery of such expense, and all moneys accruing from such proceedings shall be covered into the Treasury of the United States.
Sec. 10. That all railroad companies desiring the use of the bridgesUse by other railroad companies. authorized by this act 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 the payment of a reasonable compensation for such use; and in case the owner orCompensation. owners of said bridges 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 in using said bridges, all matters at issue between themDisagreements decided by Secretary of War.Use by telegraph, etc., companies. shall be decided by the Secretary of War upon a hearing of the allegations and proofs of the parties; and equal privileges in the use of said bridges shall be granted to all telegraph and telephone companies.
Sec. 11. That the bridges constructed, maintained, and operatedLawful structures and post-routes. under this act and according to its limitations shall be lawful structures, and shall be recognized and known in each case as a post-route, upon which also no higher charge shall be made for transportation 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 of said mails, troops, and munitions over the railroads and public highways leading to said bridges; and the United States shall have the right of way for postal telegraph and telephone purposes overPostal telegraph, etc. said bridges. 558FIFTY-FIRST CONGRESS.
Sess. I. Chs. 1131–1133. 1890. Sec. 12. That this act shall be null and void if actual constructionCommencement and completion. of the bridges herein authorized be not commenced within one year and completed within three years from the date of approval thereof. Sec. 13. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this act is herebyAmendment, etc.Removal. expressly reserved; and the right to require the entire removal of the bridges constructed under the provisions of this act at the expense of the owners thereof, whenever Congress shall decide that the public interests require it, is also expressly reserved.
Approved, September 30, 1890. Chapter 1132: to authorize the Seneca Nation of New York Indians to lease lands within the Cattaraugus and Allegany Reservations, and to confirm existing leases. Chapter 1132 26 Stat. 558 1890-09-30 United States Government Publishing Office text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Digitization Vendor 2026-02-21 51 1 public
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