Chapter 81. To authorize the construction of a bridge across the Missouri River at some point within one mile below and one mile above the present limits of the City of Jefferson, Missouri
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CHAP. 81.— An Act To authorize the construction of a bridge across the Missouri River at some point within one mile below and one mile above the present limits of the City of Jefferson, Missouri.May 28, 1894. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*,Jefferson City Bridge and Transit. Company may bridge Missouri River. That the Jefferson City Bridge anti Transit Company, a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of the State of Missouri, its successors and assigns, successors, grantees, mortgagees, and successors in interest, be, and are hereby, authorized to construct and maintain a bridge and approaches thereto across the Missouri River at Jefferson City, Missouri, between the counties of Cole and Callaway, at some point at least one third of a mile from any other bridge, to be selected consistent with the interests of navigation, within one mile above and one mile below the present limits of the city of Jefferson, Missouri.
Said bridge shall be Wagon, street railway, and foot bridge.constructed to provide for the passage of wagons and vehicles of all kinds, street-railway ears, motor cars, animals, foot passengers, and for all road travel, for such reasonable rates of toll and under such reasonable rules and regulations as may be prescribed by such corporation, its successors and assigns, and to be approved from time to time by the *Proviso*.Railroad, etc., bridge.Secretary of War: *Provided*, That such bridge may be a combination railroad and wagon road bridge, so constructed as to provide for the passage of railway trains, engines and cars, wagons and vehicles of all kinds, foot and other passengers, animals and live stock, at the option of the corporation by which it may be built.
Sec. 2. That said bridge shall not be built or commenced until theSecretary of War to approve plans, etc. plans and specifications for its construction have been submitted to the Secretary of War for his approval, nor until he shall approve the plan and location of said bridge; and if any change be made in the plan or construction of said bridge at any time such change shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of War; and any change in the construction or any alteration of said bridge that may be directed at any time by Congress or the Secretary of War shall be made at the expense and cost of the owners thereof; that the said bridge shall be constructed without interference with the security and convenience of navigation of said river beyond what is necessary to carry out effectively the rights and privileges hereby granted, and in order to secure that object, the said corporation shall submit to the Secretary of War, for his examination and approval, a design of and drawings for said bridge and a map of the proposed location giving for the space of one mile above and one mile below such proposed location, the topography of the banks of the river with shore lines and soundings, and such other information as may be required for a full understanding of the subject; and until the said plan and location of the bridge are approved by the Secretary of War the construction of said bridge shall not be commenced.
Sec. 3. That said bridge shall be made with unbroken and continuousSpans. spans, and the spans thereof shall not be less than four hundred feet in length in the clear, and the main spans shall be over the main channel of the river. The lowest part of the superstructure of said bridge shall be at least fifty-five feet in the clear above the established standard high-water grade line, and the bridge shall be at right angles 81 to, and its piers parallel with the current of the river: *Provided*, That*Proviso*.Light, etc.*Post*, 601. said company or corporation shall maintain at its own expense, from sunset to sunrise, such lights or other signals on said bridge as the Light-House Board shall prescribe.
Sec. 4. That the Secretary of War is hereby authorized and directed,Notification of approval. upon receiving such plan and other information and upon being satisfied that a bridge so built will conform to the requirements of this Act, to notify the company or corporation authorized to build the same that he approves of the same; and upon receiving such notification the said company or corporation may proceed to erect said bridge, conforming strictly to the approved plan and location, and should any change be. made in the plan of the bridge or accessory works during the progress of the work thereon such change shall be subject likewise to the approval of the Secretary of War.
Sec. 5. 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, upon which also no higher charge shall be made for the transmission 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 over the railroad or public highways leading to the said bridge, and it shall enjoy the rights and privileges of other post roads in the United States; and equal privileges in the use of said bridge shall be granted to all telegraph and telephone companies, and the United States shall have the right of way across said bridge and itsPostal telegraph. approaches for postal telegraph purposes.
Sec. 6. That all street railroad companies desiring the use of saidUse by street railroads. bridge shall have and be entitled to equal rights and privileges relative to the passage of street railroad trains or ears over the same and over the approaches thereto upon the payment of a reasonable compensation for such use, and in case the owner or owners of said bridgeCompensation. and the several street railway companies, or any one of them, desiring such use 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 bearing of the allegations and proofs of the parties: *Provided*, That should said bridge be built for the passage of railroad*Provisos*.Use by railroads. trains, wagons, and foot passengers, street cars shall not be allowed to cross thereon except at the option of the bridge company.
All railroad companies desiring the use of said bridge, should the bridge so built be a combination railroad and wagon road bridge, 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 payment of a reasonable compensation for such use; and in caseCompensation. the owner or owners of said bridge and the several railroad companies, or any one of them, desiring such passage should fail to agree upon the sum or sums to be paid, and upon the rules and conditions to which each shall conform in using such bridge, all matters at issue between them shall be decided by the Secretary of War, upon a hearing of the allegations and proof of the parties: *Provided further*, That nothingDecision of Secretary of War. in this Act in regard to charges for passengers and freight across said bridge shall govern the Secretary of War in determining any question arising as to the sum or sums to be paid to the owners of said bridge by said companies for the use of said bridge.
Sec. 7. That Congress shall have the power at any time to alter,Unobstructed navigation, etc. amend, or repeal this Act, and the Secretary of War, whenever he shall deem it necessary, may cause the owners of said bridge to remove all material and substantial obstructions to the navigation of said river by the construction of said bridge and its accessory works, or to prevent such obstruction; and the expense of altering said bridge or removing such obstruction shall be at the expense of the owners of the bridge. 82 Sec. 8.
That this Act shall be null and void if construction of saidCommencement and completion. bridge shall not be commenced within one year and finished within three years from its passage. Sec. 9. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this Act by CongressAmendment, etc. at any time is hereby expressly reserved. Approved, May 28, 1894.