Chapter 233. To authorize the construction of a bridge across the Niagara River, in the town of Lewiston, in the county of Niagara, State of New York
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CHAP. 233.— An Act To authorize the construction of a bridge across the Niagara River, in the town of Lewiston, in the county of Niagara, State of New York.May 22, 1896. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,* That the Lewiston Connecting Lewiston Connecting Bridge Company may bridge Niagara River, Lewiston, N. Y. Bridge Company, a corporation organized under the laws of the State of New York, being chapter three hundred and forty of the laws of the year eighteen hundred and ninety-six, is hereby authorized to construct, maintain, and operate a bridge, and the necessary approaches thereto, across the Niagara River at or from some point in the town of Lewiston, in the county of Niagara, State of New York, south of the village of Lewiston, to some point in Canada on the west bank of said river, which said bridge may be used for railroad and other purposes, as provided in Railroad, etc., bridge. the laws of the State of New York pertaining thereto.
Sec. 2. That any bridge which may be erected under the authority Secretary of War to approve plans, etc. of this Act shall be so located and constructed that the channels of said Niagara River shall not be unreasonably obstructed and that before commencing work on any bridge contemplated or authorized by this Act it shall be the duty of the company or corporation about to construct the same to submit to the Secretary of War, for his examination, a design and drawing, including plans and specifications of the bridge and piers and a map of the location, giving for the space of one-half mile above and one-half mile below the proposed location the topography of the banks of the river, the shore lines at high and low water, the direction of the current, and such other and further information as the Secretary of War may require for a full and satisfactory understanding of the subject.
And the construction of such bridge shall not be commenced until the approval of such plans and of the location of such bridge by the Secretary of War: *Provided,* That any bridge constructed *Proviso.* Unobstructed navigation. under the authority of this Act shall be so kept and managed as to offer reasonable and proper means for the passage of vessels and other crafts; and if said bridge be constructed as a drawbridge, the draw Draw. shall be opened promptly, upon reasonable signal, for the passage of boats; and whatever kind of bridge is built the owners thereof shall maintain thereon, at their own expense, from sunset to sunrise, such lights and other signals as the Light-House Board shall prescribe.Lights, etc. 135FIFTY-FOURTH CONGRESS.
Sess. I. Chs. 233, 238. 1896. Sec. 3. That any bridge constructed under this Act and according Lawful structure and post route. to its limitations shall be a lawful structure, and shall be recognized and known as a post route, over which the mails, troops, and munitions of war of the United States may be transported at no higher charge than is made for transportation of such mails, troops, and munitions of war over railroads and public highways leading to said bridge; and the United States shall have the right of way for postal-telegraph lines Postal telegraph. and appliances across said bridge.
Sec. 4. That in case of any litigation from any obstruction or alleged Litigation. obstruction to navigation created by the construction of any bridge under this Act, the cause or question arising may be heard by the district or circuit court of the United States in and for the northern district of New York: *Provided,* That nothing in this Act shall be so *Proviso.* Existing law. construed as to repeal or modify any of the provisions of the law now existing in reference to the protection of the navigation of rivers, or to exempt this bridge from the operations of the same.
Sec. 5. That the right to alter and amend this Act and to require Amendment, etc. the removal of material obstructions to navigation by the construction of any bridge under its provisions is hereby expressly reserved, without any liability of the Government on account of said alterations or amendments, or on account of the prevention or the requiring of the removal of any such obstruction; and if any change be made in the Changes. plan of any bridge constructed under this Act during the progress of the work thereon, or before the completion thereof, such change shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of War; and any change in the construction or any alteration of any bridge, and the removal of any obstruction that may be directed at any time by Congress or the Secretary of War, shall be made at the cost and expense of the owners of said bridge.
Sec. 6. 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 railway trains or cars over the same and over the approaches thereto upon payment of reasonable compensation for such use; and in Compensation. 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 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: *Provided,* That each and every *Proviso,* Interstate commerce regulations. railway company using the said bridge that shall carry or transport any goods, merchandise, or other personal property over the same from any part of the United States, to be delivered in any other part of the United States, shall, in the carriage, transportation, and delivery of such goods, merchandise, or other property, be subject to and comply with the laws known as the interstate commerce laws of the United States and to all such regulations as may be prescribed under or by the authority of such laws.
Sec. 7. That this Act shall become and be null and void if actual Commencement and completion. construction of the bridge herein authorized be not commenced before the first day of July, in the year nineteen hundred, and completed within five years thereafter. Approved, May 22, 1896.