Chapter 817.
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CHAP. 817.— An act to authorize the construction of a bridge across the Columbia River by the Oregon Railway Extensions Company.August 29, 1890. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*,Oregon Railway Extensions Company may bridge Columbia River near Vancouver. Wash.Limitations, etc. That the Oregon Railway Extensions Company, a corporation existing under the laws of the State of Oregon, its successors, and assigns, be, and is hereby, authorized to construct and maintain, if in the opinion of the Secretary of War the same be a public necessity, a bridge across the Columbia River at a place suitable to commerce and not interfering with navigation, at a point at or near Vancouver, in the State of Washington, and to lay on or over said bridge a track or 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 Free navigation.Litigation.hereinafter provided; that said bridge shall not interfere with the free navigation 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 Railway, or railway, wagon, and foot bridge.of railroad 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, Toll.for such reasonable rates of toll as may be fixed from time to time by the Secretary of War. Sec. 2. That said bridge shall be provided with two or more draw-openings,Draw-openings.Channel-way.Fixed channel-spans.Channel-way. 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 hundred and fifty feet clear channel-way: and every part of the superstructure of said bridge Head-room.*Provisos*.shall give a clear headroom of not less than ten feet above extreme known high-water mark: *Provided*, That all spans shall be Location of spans, and one draw-opening.Reduced length of spans and number of draws.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 of the locality so require, and the interests of navigation be not injured thereby, the lengths of the fixed spans or the number of draw- FIFTY-FIRST CONGRESS.
Sess. I. Ch. 817. 1890.367 openings may be reduced: *Provided, also*, That for any two adjacentSubstitution of one-draw for two adjacent draws. 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 operatedOpening, etc., of draws. by steam or other reliable mechanical power, and shall be opened promptly upon reasonable, signal for the passage of boats,Signals. except when trains are passing over said span or spans; but in no case shall unnecessary delay occur in opening said draw after theNo unnecessary delay in opening. 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 openedRight of way. for the passage of such boat before another train is allowed to pass over the said span or spans; nor shall there be any unnecessary delayPrompt passage of trains. in the passage of trains over the bridge.
Sec. 4. That all piers shall be built parallel with the current ofPiers, etc. the river at that stage of water which is most important for navigation, and the bridge itself shall be built as nearly as may be at right angles thereto; and that riprapping or other protection for imperfectProtected waterway. 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 theObstructions to navigation to be abated. 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, or at the expense of the company or persons owning, controlling, or operating said bridge.
Sec. 5. That the approaches to said bridge shall be so designedApproaches. and constructed as not to interfere with the free discharge of said river in seasons of flood; and any encroachment on the high-waterEncroachments on high-water cross-section. cross-section by piers, solid embankments, or otherwise which will result in unduly accelerating the high-water current at the site of the bridge shall not be allowed. Sec. 6. That any corporation, company, or persons owning, controlling,Accessory works, aids to navigation. 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 watercraft safely under or 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,Additional sheer-booms, etc. 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, such lights and other signals on said bridge as may be required byLights, etc. the Light-House Board for the security of navigation.
Sec. 7. That the bridge authorized to be constructed by this actRegulations for security of navigation. shall be located and built under and subject to such regulations for the security of navigation on said river as the Secretary of War shall prescribe; and to secure that object said corporation shall submitSecretary of War to approve plans, etc., before construction. for his examination a design and drawings of the bridge, piers, approaches, and accessory works, and a map of the location, giving, 368 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 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 satisfactory understanding of the subject, and the construction of the proposed 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 this actConstruction.General supervision. shall be built under the general supervision of the Secretary of War, and no changes or alterations in plans shall be made during Structural changes, etc.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 Wai’ in said bridge so as Free, etc., navigation.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 Navigable channel, etc.changes or repairs of said bridge a navigable channel shall be preserved 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 Lights and buoys.necessary, and such lights and buoys shall be kept on all cofferdams, piles, and so forth, as may be necessary for the security of navigation.
Sec. 9. That whenever the Secretary of War has good reason to believe that any of the provisions of sections four, six, and eight of thisAids to navigation, etc. act have not been complied with by the company or persons owning, controlling, or operating the bridge authorized under its provisions Secretary of War to make alterations, etc., on failure to comply with certain requirements.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-General of the United States, whose duty it shall be to institute, in the name of the United Suits for resulting expenses.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 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 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 Compensation.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 shall fail to agree upon the sum or sums to be paid, and upon rules and conditions to winch each shall conform in using Secretary of War to determine controversies.Use by telegraph, etc., companies.said bridge, all matters at issue between them 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 bridge shall be granted to all telegraph and telephone companies.
FIFTY-FIRST CONGRESS. Sess. I. Chs. 817–819. 1890.369 Sec. 11. That the bridge constructed, maintained, and operatedLawful structure and post-route. 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 the right of way for postal telegraph and telephone purposes over said bridge.
Postal telegraph, etc.Commencement and completion. Sec. 12. 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. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this act is herebyAmendment, etc. expressly reserved; and the right to require the entire removal of the bridge constructed under the provisions of this act, at the expenseRemoval of bridge. of the owners thereof, whenever Congress shall decide that the public interests require it, is also expressly reserved.
Approved, August 29, 1890. Chapter 818: to change the time of the sessions of the circuit and district courts for the western district of Missouri. Chapter 818 26 Stat. 369 1890-08-29 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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