Chapter 46. to authorize the Oregon and Washington Bridge Company to construct and maintain a bridge across the Columbia River, between the State of Oregon and the State of Washington, and to establish it as a post-road
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CHAP. 46.— An Act to authorize the Oregon and Washington Bridge Company to construct and maintain a bridge across the Columbia River, between the State of Oregon and the State of Washington, and to establish it as a post-road.March 24, 1890. Whereas, the act of Congress approved July sixteenth, eighteenPreamble.Vol. 25, p. 296. hundred and eighty-eight (twenty-fifth Statutes at Large, page two hundred and ninety-six), has become null and void by failure of the Columbia River Bridge Company, the corporation in said act named, or its assigns, to commence the construction of the bridge in said act authorized within one year from date of said act:
Therefore *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*Oregon and Washington Bridge Company may bridge Columbia River at La Camas, Wash., That the Oregon and Washington Bridge Company, a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Oregon, its successors and assigns, be, and is hereby, authorized to construct and maintain a bridge across the Columbia River, at a place suitable to commerce and not interfering with navigation at a point at or near La Camas, in the State of Washington, and to lay on or over said bridge a track or tracksRailroad tracks. for the more perfect connection of any railroad or railroads that are or shall be constructed to said river, on either or both sides thereof, at or opposite said point, under the limitations and conditions hereinafter provided: that said bridge shall not interfere with the free navigationFree navigation.Litigation. of said river, and in case of any litigation arising from any obstruction, or alleged obstruction to the free navigation of said river by reason of the construction of said bridge, 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 bridge may be.
Said bridge shall be constructed to provide for the passage of railroad trains, and, at the option of the said company or corporation,Railroad, or railway, wagon and foot bridge. 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 timeTolls. by the Secretary of War. Sec. 2. That said bridge shall be provided with two or more drawDraw openings. 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,Fixed channel spans. each having not less than three hundred and fifty feet clear channel-way: and every part of the superstructure of said bridge shall give a clear head room of not less than ten feet above extremeHead room.*Provisos*.Location of spans. known 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 ofChanges in fixed spans and draws. the locality so require, and the interests of navigation be not injured 26FIFTY-FIRST CONGRESS.
Sess. I. Ch. 46. 1890. thereby, the length of the fixed spans or the number of Adjacent draws substitution for.draw-openings may be reduced: *Provided, also*, That for any two adjacent 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. Power to operate draws. That all draw-spans authorized by this act shall be operated by steam or other reliable mechanical power, and shall be opened Opening draws.promptly upon reasonable signal for the passage of boats, except when trains are passing over said span or spans; but in no No unnecessary delay after passage of trains.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 No unnecessary delay in passage of trains.Construction.over the said span or spans; nor shall there be any unnecessary delay in the passage of trains over the bridge.
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 bridge itself shall be built as nearly as maybe at right Impediments to navigation prohibited.angles thereto; and that rip rapping 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 Abatement of nuisance, by Secretary of War.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 bridge.
Sec. 5. Free flood discharge. That the approaches to said bridge shall be so designed and constructed as not to interfere with the free discharge of said river in seasons of flood; and any encroachment on the high-water cross-section by piers, solid embankments, or otherwise which will High water current.result in unduly accelerating the high-water current at the site of the bridge shall not be allowed. Sec. 6. Aids to navigation. That any corporation, company, or persons owning, controlling. or operating the bridge built under the authority of this act shall build and maintain at all times, as accessory works to such bridge, 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 site, and for the guiding of rafts, steamboats, and other water craft safely under or Subsequent additional aids.through said bridge; and if at any time after the construction of the bridge and its accessory works the approaches to draw openings, channel-spans, or raft passages in said bridge 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 bridge 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 Lights, etc.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, such lights and other signals on said bridge as may be required by the Light-House Board for the security of navigation.
Sec. 7. Location, etc. That the bridge authorized to be constructed by this act shall be located and built under and subject to such regulations for the security of navigation of said river as the Secretary of War shall 27 prescribe: and to secure that object said corporation shall submit for his examination a design and drawings of the bridge, piers,Plans, maps, etc. approaches, and accessory works, and a map of the location giving, for a space of at least three miles above and one mile below the proposed location the topography of the banks of the river and the shorelines at high and low water.
This map 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 bridge and one-quarter of a mile below an accurate representation of the bottom of the river by contour lines two feet apart, determined by accurate soundings, and also showing over the whole width of this part of the river 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 map 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 satisfactory understanding of the subject, and the construction of the proposedSecretary of War to approve location and plans. bridge shall not be commenced until the location and plans thereof are approved by the Secretary of War. Sec. 8. That any bridge constructed under the authority of thisGeneral supervision of building by Secretary of War.Changes. act shall be built under the general supervision of the Secretary of War, and no changes or alterations in plans shall be made during construction of said bridge or after its 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 bridge 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 bridge. That during original construction or in carrying out any authorized changes or repairs of said bridge a navigable channel shall be preservedSecurity of navigation during construction. at the site of the bridge 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 cofferdams,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 toOn failure of company to comply with sections 4, 6, and 8 work to be done at Government expense, etc. believe that any of the provisions of sections four, six, and eight of this act have hot been complied with by the company or persons owning, controlling, or operating the bridge 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 removals of obstructions, to be made at the expense of the United States, and shall referSuit for expenses, etc. 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 the circuit court of the United States, in and for the District in which any portion of said obstruction or bridge may lie for the recovery of such expenses, 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 bridgeUse 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 bridge and the several railroad companies, or any one of them, desiring such use shall fail to agree upon the sum or sums 28FIFTY-FIRST CONGRESS.
Sess. I. Chs. 46, 47. 1890. to be paid, and upon rules and conditions to which each shall conform in using said bridge, all matters at issue between them shall Secretary of War to decide disagreements.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 Use by telegraph companies, etc.said bridge shall be granted to all telegraph and telephone companies. Sec. 11. Lawful structure and post-route. That the bridge constructed, maintained, and operated under this act and according to its 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 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 bridge; and the United States shall have Postal telegraph and telephone.the right of way for postal telegraph and telephone purposes over said bridge.
Sec. 12. Commencement and completion. That this act shall be null and void if actual construction of the bridge herein authorized be not commenced within two years, and completed within four years from the date of approval thereof. Sec. 13. Conditional repeal of former legislation.Vol. 25, p. 296. That all former acts or parts of acts granting authority for the erection of any bridge or bridges over the portion of said Columbia River over which the construction of a bridge is authorized by this act be, and the same are hereby, repealed in each and every case where actual construction of said bridge or bridges be not commenced on or before the date of the approval of this act.
Sec. 14. Amendment. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this act is hereby expressly reserved; and the right to require the entire removal of the bridge 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, March 24, 1890.