Chapter 16. to authorize the Alabama Grand Trunk Railroad Company to bridge across the Tallapoosa and Coosa rivers
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CHAP. 16.— An Act to authorize the Alabama Grand Trunk Railroad Company to bridge across the Tallapoosa and Coosa rivers.December 28, 1892. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*,Alabama Grand Trunk Railroad Company may bridge Tallapoosa and Coosa rivers, Alabama. That the Alabama Grand Trunk Railroad Company, organized under the laws of the State of Alabama, be, and is hereby, authorized to construct, maintain, and use a bridge, and approaches thereto, over the Tallapoosa River, near Hatchett Ferry, and also a bridge, and approaches thereto, over the Coosa River, at some point between Cedar Bluff and Tripp Ferry, both of said proposed Railway, wagon and foot bridges.bridges being in the State of Alabama.
Said bridges shall be constructed to provide for the passage of railway trains, and, at the option of the corporation by which either of said bridges 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. Sec. 2. That any bridge built under this act and subject to its limitationsLawful structures and post routes. 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 in the United States: and, upon just compensation being paid to said company, equal privileges in the use of said bridge or bridges shall be granted to all telegraph and telephone companies; and the United States shall have the right of way, free of cost, over said Postal telegraph.Use by other companies.bridge or bridges for postal-telegraph purposes.
Sec. 3. That all railroad companies desiring the use of said bridge or bridges shall have and be entitled to equal rights and privileges relative to the passage of railway trains over the same, and over the approaches Compensation.thereto, upon the payment of a reasonable compensation to the said Alabama Grand Trunk Railroad Company, its successors and assigns, for such use; and in case the owner or owners of said bridge or bridges, and the several railroad companies, or any 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 bridge or bridges, 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. 4. That the bridges authorized to be constructed under this actSecretary of War to approve plans, etc. shall be built and located 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 the said company or corporation shall submit to the Secretary of War, for his examination and approval, a design and drawings of each of said bridges, when necessary to construct either of them, 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 river, 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 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 or bridges is approved by the Secretary of War the bridge shall not be commenced or built;
Changes.and should any change be made in the plan of either of said bridges during the progress of construction, such changes shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of War: and the expense of such change, and of any other changes at any time required by the Secretary of War 413 in either of said bridges, or the entire removal of either or both of said bridges after being completed, if the Secretary of War deems the same necessary, shall be paid by the persons or corporation owning or controlling said bridge or bridges; and any action ensuing from the constructionLitigation. of said bridges, or either of them, shall be instituted and brought in the district court of the United States within whose, juris diction any portion of said bridge, or bridges may be located: *Provided*,*Provisos*.Aids to navigation.
That no bridge shall be built under the provisions of this act, except there also be built, at the time of the erection of the piers, such sheer booms, dikes, piers, or other suitable structures for the guiding of rafts, steamboats, and other water craft safely through the passageways as shall be required by the Secretary of War: *And provided also*, ThatLights, etc. the said company or corporation shall maintain, at its own expense, from sunset to sunrise, such lights or other signals on said bridges as the Light-House Board shall prescribe.
Sec. 5. That this act shall be null and void as to such bridge, hereinCommencement and completion. provided for, on which actual construction is not commenced within one year and completed within three years from the date thereof: but shall remain in full force and effect as to such bridge, herein provided for, on which actual construction is commenced within one year and completed within three years from the date hereof. Sec. 6. That Congress hereby expressly reserves the right to alter,Amendment, etc. amend, or repeal this act whenever the public interests so require.
Approved, December 28, 1892.