Chapter 224. To establish a railroad bridge across the Illinois River near Grafton, Illinois
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CHAP. 224.— An Act To establish a railroad bridge across the Illinois River near Grafton, Illinois.May 21, 1896. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,* That the Saint Louis, Perry St. Louis, Perry and Chicago Railroad may bridge Illinois River, Grafton, Ill. and Chicago Railroad, a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Illinois, its successors and assigns, are hereby authorized and empowered to erect, construct, establish, and maintain a railway bridge, Railway bridge. and approaches thereto, across the Illinois River, in the State of Illinois, between a point to be selected by said railroad, or its successors or assigns, within five miles from and above the upper limits of Grafton, in the county of Jersey in said State, and a point in Calhoun County in said State, to be selected by said railroad, or its successors or assigns, opposite or nearly opposite the points selected as aforesaid in said Jersey County: *Provided,* That the location selected shall be suitable *Proviso.* Location. to the interests of navigation.
Sec. 2. That the bridge authorized by and constructed under this Drawbridge. Act shall be a pivot drawbridge, the drawspan on the Jersey side to commence at the abutment of the approach on that side of the river, which abutment on the Jersey side shall be within the low-water mark, and the bridge shall have a draw over the main channel of the river at an accessible and navigable point, with two equal drawspans, one on each side of the central or pivot pier, each giving a clear width of waterway of not less than one hundred and sixty feet; and the span Spans. next the drawspan on the Calhoun side of the river shall not be less than two hundred feet in length, and the remaining span of such length as shall be necessary to reach the approach on that side of the river, which will be beyond low water on the Calhoun side.
All spans to have a clear headroom of ten feet above high water; and the piers of said bridge shall be parallel with the current of the river when said bridge shall be erected. Sec. 3. That any bridge constructed under this Act and according to Lawful structure and post route. its limitations shall be a lawful structure, and shall be known and 132FIFTY-FOURTH CONGRESS. Sess. I. Chs. 224, 225. 1896. recognized as a post route, and the same is hereby declared to be a post route, and it shall enjoy the same rights and privileges as other post roads in the United States, 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 their transportation over the railroads leading to said bridge; and the United States shall have the right of way for a postal telegraph Postal telegraph. across said bridge.
Sec. 4. That all railroad companies desiring the use of said bridge Use by railroad companies. shall have and be entitled to equal rights and privileges relative to the passage of railroad trains over the same and the approaches thereto, and in the use of the machinery and fixtures thereof, upon payment of a reasonable compensation for such use, and in case the owner or Compensation. owners of said bridge and the railroad companies, or any of them, desiring such use, shall fail to agree upon the sum or sums to be paid as such compensation, and upon rules and conditions to which each shall conform in using said bridge, or either of said matters, then all matters in dispute or at issue between them or any of them shall be decided by the Secretary of War upon a hearing of the allegations and proofs of the parties.
Sec. 5. That the structure herein authorized shall be built and located Secretary of War approve plans, etc. 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 company or corporation shall submit to the Secretary of War for his examination and approval a design and drawings of said bridge 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 current at all stages, and the soundings, accurately showing the load of the stream, the location of any other bridge or bridges, and shall 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 are approved by the Secretary of War the bridge shall not be commenced or built, and should any change Changes. be made in the plan of said bridge during the process of construction, such change shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of War; and the said bridge shall be at all times so managed and kept as to offer reasonable and proper means for the passage of vessels through or under said structure; and such aids to the passage of the draw, in the Aids to navigation. form of pile or crib guides, as the Secretary of War may deem necessary, shall be constructed by the said company; and to secure the safe passage of vessels at night there shall be maintained on said bridge, at the expense of the owners thereof, from the hour of sunset to that of sunrise, such lights as may be prescribed by the Light-House Board, Lights, etc. and the said structure shall be changed, at the cost and expense of the owners thereof, from time to time, as the Secretary of War may direct, so as to preserve the free and convenient navigation of said river.
Sec. 6. That this Act shall be null and void if actual construction Commencement and completion. of the bridge herein authorized be not commenced within one year and completed within three years from the date hereof. Sec. 7. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this Act is hereby Amendment, etc. expressly reserved. Approved, May 21, 1896.