Chapter 388. Authorizing the construction of a bridge over the Mississippi River to the city of Saint Louis, in the State of Missouri, from some suitable point between the north line of Saint Clair County, Illinois, and the southwest line of said county
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CHAP. 388.— An Act Authorizing the construction of a bridge over the Mississippi River to the city of Saint Louis, in the State of Missouri, from some suitable point between the north line of Saint Clair County, Illinois, and the southwest line of said county. March 3, 1897. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*, That the consent of CongressEast St. Louis and St. Louis Bridge and Construction Company may bridge, Mississippi River, St.
Louis, Mo. is hereby given to the East Saint Louis and Saint Louis Bridge and Construction Company, of the city of East Saint Louis, of the county of Saint Clair and State of Illinois, a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Illinois, its assigns, successors, grantees, mortgagees, representatives, and successors in interest, to build, own, operate, and. maintain a bridge and approaches thereto, as hereinafter described, across the Mississippi River, from some point suitable to the interests of navigation between the north line of Saint Clair County, Illinois, and the soul Invest line of said county, to the city of Saint Louis, State of Missouri: *Provided*, That the plan and location of the said bridge, so*Provisos*.Board of engineers to report on plans, etc. far as the interests of navigation are concerned, shall be recommended by a board of three United States engineers appointed by the Secretary of War and shall be approved by the Secretary of War.
And it shallHearings. be the duty of the said board to give a public hearing in the city of Saint Louis to all parties interested in the construction of said bridge or in the navigation of the river whenever the design and drawings of said bridge and maps of location shall have been submitted to the Secretary of War as herein provided. Said board to give reasonable notice of time and place of such hearing and report its recommendations to the Secretary of War as soon thereafter as may be expedient: *Provided also*, That said proposed bridge shall not be locatedRestriction on location. within three-fourths of one mile of any bridge already constructed across said river.
Said bridge shall be constructed for the purpose ofRailway, etc., bridge. providing for the passage of wagons, vehicles, street ears, animals, and foot passengers, and shall be constructed of sufficient strength and dimensions to provide for the passage over it of railway passenger and freight trains and the accommodation of double tracks therefor, and shall be deemed and token as a public highway for the purposes named only, subject to the provisions hereinafter set forth: *Provided*,Use by street railways.
That street railway companies desiring the use of said bridge shall have and be entitled to equal rights and privileges relative to the passage of cars over the same and over the approaches thereto, and in ease the owner or owners of said bridge and the street-railway companies, or any one of them, desiring such use shall fail to agree 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 hearing the allegations and proofs of the parties in question.
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, upon which also no charge shall be made for the transmission over the same of the mails, the troops, and the munitions of war of the United States, 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 saidPostal telegraph. bridge and its approaches for postal telegraphic purposes.
Sec. 3. That in case the said bridge shall be built below the bridgeConstruction.Below Eads Bridge. heretofore constructed and known as the Eads Bridge, it shall be built with an unbroken and continuous single span, and the lowest part of said span shall not be of less elevation in any case than seventy-five feetFIFTY-FOURTH CONGRESS. Sess. II. Ch. 388. 1897.686 Above Eads Bridge.above the Saint Louis City directrix; and in case the said bridge shall be built above the said Eads Bridge there shall be at least three channel Spans.spans of not less than five hundred feet clear width, each measured at right angles to the current at any and all stages of water; and the lowest part of said span shall not be of less elevation in any case than fifty feet above the Saint Louis City directrix plus the slope of the river from the foot of Walnut street, in the city of Saint Loins, to the point where the bridge shall be built; and the piers of said bridge shall be parallel with the current of the river.
Sec. 4. Piers.That the piers of all high-channel spans shall be built parallel with the current of the river at the stage of water which is most important for navigation; and riprapping or other protection for imperfect foundations which will materially lessen the waterway or which may injure navigation shall not be employed in the channel way’s of the high spans, and piers which will produce cross currents or bars dangerous to navigation shall not be constructed; and if, after construction, any piers or protection walls are found to produce the above mentioned effects the nuisance shall be abated or corrected by or at the expense of the persons owning said bridge; and the approaches to the channel spans mentioned in this Act shall provide sufficient waterway for the passage of Hoods.
Sec. 5. Lights, etc.That the persons owning, controlling, or operating the bridge authorized by this Act shall maintain, at their own expense, from sunset to sunrise, throughout the year, and during heavy fogs, such lights or other signals as the Light-House Board shall prescribe, and shall also Headroom notices.each day during the season of navigation have posted in a conspicuous place the clear headroom under the channel span on that day, the figures expressing this height to be readily visible to the naked eye from any point in the channel of the river for a stretch of four thousand feet, of which three thousand feet shall be above and one thousand feet shall be below the channel span of the bridge.
Sec. 6. Unobstructed navigation.That no bridge shall be erected or maintained under the authority of this Act which shall at anytime 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 War, obstruct such navigation, he is hereby authorized to cause such change or alteration of said bridge to be made as will effectually obviate such obstruction; and all such alterations shall be made and all such obstructions removed at the expense of the persons owning or controlling such Litigation.bridge; and in ease of any litigation arising from any obstruction or alleged obstruction to the free navigation of said river, caused or alleged to be caused by said bridge, the ease shall be brought and tried in the circuit court of the United States for the southern district of Illinois.
Sec. 7. Secretary of War to approve plans, etc.That any bridge authorized to be constructed under this Act shall be built and located under and subject to such regulations for the security of navigation of said river as the Secretary of War shall prescribe; and the said company or corporation shall submit to the Secretary of War, for his examination and approval, a design and drawings of the bridge and a map of the location, giving, for a sufficient distance above and below the bridge, the topography of the banks of the river, the shore lines at high and low water, the direction and strength of the current at low, medium, and high water stages, and the soundings, accurately showing the bed 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 built; and should any changes be made in the plan of said bridge during the progress of construction, such changes shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of War.
Sec. 8. Commencement and completion.That in case the construction of the bridge authorized in this Act shall not be commenced within one year and completed within five years from the date of its approval then this Act shall be null and void. Sec. 9. Consolidation with other companies or pooling forbidden.That as a principal reason for giving authority to build the bridge herein contemplated is to secure reasonable rates and tolls toFIFTY-FOURTH CONGRESS. Sess. II. Chs. 388, 389. 1897.687 that class of traffic described in this Act for passage over the same? and to facilitate the transaction of business across the Mississippi River at the city of Saint Louis, the East Saint Louis and Saint Louis Bridge and Construction Company, or its successors or assigns, shall not agree or assent to the consolidation of this bridge company with any other bridge company across the Mississippi River, or to the pooling of the earnings of this bridge company with the earnings of any other bridge company across said river, nor shall any person who is or may be a director, manager, or any other officer or agent of any other bridge over said river be a director, manager, or officer or agent of the bridge herein provided for; *Provided*, That if this provision of this Act*Proviso*.Forfeiture for violation. shall at any time be violated in any of these particulars, such violation shall, without legal proceeding, at once forfeit the privilege hereby granted, and said bridge shall become the property of the United States, and the Secretary of War shall take possession of the same in the name and for the use of the United States.
Sec. 10. That said corporation may transport on said bridge andTransportation. approaches thereto persons and property of the class described in this Act, and may allow others so to do; and said bridge and approaches may be used for the transportation of all that class of persons and property described in this Act, under such regulations as the directors of said corporation or the parties owning the said bridge may prescribe. The corporation owning the said bridge may take, receive, and collectToll. such rates and tolls for travel, passage, or transportation over said bridge and approaches as the directors of the corporation owning or controlling said bridge may from time to time fix and establish: *Provided*,*Proviso*.Maximum rates.
That the rates charged for such travel, passage, or transportation shall not exceed the following, to wit: For each freight car, loaded or unloaded, three dollars: for each passenger car (exclusive of passengers riding therein), three dollars; for each passenger over five years of age crossing in any passenger car, fifteen cents; for each foot passenger over five years of age, three cents; for every person on horseback, including horse, seven cents; for every gig, buggy, carriage, cart, or wagon drawn by one animal, ten cents; for every buggy, carriage, cart, or wagon drawn by two animals, twenty cents; for every buggy, carriage, cart, or wagon drawn by three animals, twenty-five cents; for every buggy, carriage, cart, or wagon drawn by four animals, thirty cents; for every buggy, carriage, cart, or wagon drawn by more than four animals, five cents extra for each animal: for each head of cattle, horses, mules, or other animals other than those attached to vehicles, ten cents; for each head of sheep or swine, five cents.
InStreet-car fare. case said corporation owning or controlling said bridge shall operate a street-car line, or permit any street-car company to operate a street-car line on said bridge and approaches, the fare for a single passenger over said bridge for persons over five years of age shall not exceed five cents. Sec. 11. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this Act is herebyAmendment, etc. expressly reserved. Sec. 12. That all acts or parts of acts in conflict with this Act areRepeal. hereby repealed.
Approved, March 3, 1897.