Chapter 125. authorizing the Continental Bridge Company to construct a bridge across the Rio Grande River at or near Brownsville
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CHAP. 125.— An Act authorizing the Continental Bridge Company to construct a bridge across the Rio Grande River at or near Brownsville. Texas.June 22, 1892. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*,Continental Bridge Company may bridge Rio Grande del Norte at Brownsville, Tex. That the Continental Bridge Company, by and with the consent of the Government of Mexico, is hereby authorized and empowered to erect, construct, maintain, and operate a bridge over the Rio Grande del Norte from or near Brownsville, in the State of Texas, to or near the city of Matamoras, in Mexico.
Said bridge shall be constructed to provide for the passage of Railway, etc., bridge.railway trains and street railways and for the passage of wagons and vehicles of all kinds, for the transit of animals, and for foot passengers, Toll.for such reasonable rates of toll as may be approved from time to time by the Secretary of War. Sec. 2. That any bridge built under this act and subject to its limitationsLawful structure and post route. shall be a lawful structure, and shall be recognized and known as a post route, and it shall enjoy the rights and privileges of other post roads of the United States.
Sec. 3. That said bridge shall be constructed with a draw of sufficientDraw. capacity to afford free passage to such vessels and boats as *Provisos*.navigate said river: *Provided*, That said bridge shall be opened promptly Opening draw.upon reasonable signal for the passage of boats and other water craft, except when trains are passing over the draw; but in no case shall unnecessary delay occur in opening the draw after the passage of trains, or at any other time; and the said Continental Bridge Company shall Lights, etc.maintain, at its own expense, from sunset to sunrise, such lights or other signals on said bridge as the United States Light-House Board shall prescribe.
And no bridge shall be erected and maintained under the authority of this act which shall at any time substantially or materially obstruct the free navigation of said river; and if any bridge erected under such authority shall, in the opinion of the Secretary of Changes.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 all such alterations shall be made and all such obstructions be removed at the expense of the owner of said bridge.
And in case of any obstruction or alleged obstruction to the navigation of said river, caused or alleged to be caused by said bridge, Litigation.any action arising thereon may be brought in the circuit court of the United States in which any portion of said obstruction or bridge may be located: *Provided further*, That nothing in this act shall be so General Laws not modified.construed as to repeal or modify any of the provisions of law now existing in reference to the protection of the navigation of rivers, or to exempt this bridge from the operation of the same.
Sec. 4. That any bridge authorized to be constructed under thisSecretary of War to approve plans, etc. 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 prescribe; and to secure that object the said corporation shall, at least three months previous to the commencement of the construction of said bridge, submit to the Secretary of War, for his examination and approval, a design and drawing of the bridge, and a map of the location, giving the high and low water lines upon the banks of the river, the direction and strength of the currents at all stages of the water, with the soundings accurately showing the bed of the stream, and the location of any other bridge or bridges, such map to be sufficiently in detail to enable the Secretary of War to judge of the proper location of said bridge, and shall furnish such other information as may be 57 required for a full and satisfactory understanding of the subject; and until such 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.
Sec. 5. That all railroad companies desiring the use of said bridgeUse by other companies. 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;Terms. 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 the 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 War upon a hearing of the allegations and proofs of the parties.
Sec. 6. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this act is herebyAmendment, etc. expressly reserved; and the right to require any changes in said structure, or its entire removal, at the expense of the owners thereof, whenever Congress shall decide that the public interest requires it, is also expressly reserved. Sec. 7. That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of War, on satisfactoryAids to navigation. proof that a necessity exists therefor, to require the company or persons owning said bridge to cause such aids to the passage of said bridge to be constructed, placed, and maintained, at their own cost and expense, in the form of booms, dikes, piers, or suitable and proper structures for the guiding of rafts, steamboats, and other water craft safely through the passageway as shall be specified in his order in that behalf; and on failure of the company or persons aforesaid to make and establish such additional structures within a reasonable, time the said Secretary shall proceed to cause the same to be built or 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 States, proceedings in any circuit court of the United States in which such bridge or any part thereof is located for the recovery of the cost of such additional structure; and all moneys accruing from such proceedings shall be covered into the Treasury of the United States.
Sec. 8. That the consent of the authorities of the Republic of MexicoConsent of Mexico. for the construction of said bridge shall first have been obtained before said bridge shall be built or commenced. Sec. 9. That this act shall be in force from and after its passage. Sec. 10. That this act shall be null and void if actual constructionCommencement and. completion. of the bridge herein authorized be not commenced within two years and completed within four years from the passage of this act.
Sec. 11. That Congress is hereby authorized to alter, amend, or repealAmendment, etc. this act. Approved, June 22, 1892.