Chapter 877. To authorize the Paris, Choctaw and Little Rock Railway Company to construct and maintain a bridge across Red River, in the State of Texas
783 words·~4 min read·
/statutes-at-large/vol-31/chapter-877-5990594·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
CHAP. 877.— An Act To authorize the Paris, Choctaw and Little Rock Railway Company to construct and maintain a bridge across Red River, in the State of Texas. March 3, 1901. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, *, Paris, Choctaw and Little Rock Railway may bridge Red River at Hooks Ferry, Tex. That the Paris, Choctaw and Little Rock Railway Company, a corporation duly created under and by virtue of the laws of the State Texas, be, and is hereby, authorized to build a bridge across Red River, at a point suitable to the interest of navigation, at or near Hooks Ferry, Red River County, Texas, the said bridge to be so constructed as to not interfere with the navigation *Proviso.*Lawful structure and post route.of said river: *Provided,* That any bridge constructed under this Act and according to its limitations shall be a lawful structure, and shall be known and recognized as a post route, and the same is hereby declared to be a post route, upon which no higher rate shall be charged for the transmission over the same of the mails, the troops, and the munitions of war of the United States, or for through passengers or freight passing over said bridge, than the rate per mile paid for their transportation Postal telegraph, etc.over the railways leading to said bridge; and the United States shall have the right of way for postal-telegraph and telephone purposes over said bridge.
Sec. 2. Secretary of War approve plans. That any bridge constructed under this Act shall be built and located under and subject to such regulations for the security of the navigation of said river as the Secretary of War shall prescribe, and to secure that object the said company shall submit to the Secretary of War, for his examination and approval, a design and drawing’s of the bridge and piers, and a map of the location, giving for the space of at least 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, and the direction and strength of the current at all stages, and the soundings, accurately showing the bed of the stream, the location of any other bridge or bridges, and shall furnish such 1455other information as may be required for a full and satisfactory understanding of the subject; and until said plan and location of the bridgeChanges. are approved by the Secretary of War the bridge shall not be built, and if any change be made in the plan of construction of said bridge during the progress of the work thereon, or after the completion of said bridge. such change shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of War; and the said structure shall be so kept and managed atAids to navigation. all times as to offer reasonable and proper means tor the passage of vessels through or under said structure; and for the safety of vesselsLights. passing at night there shall be displayed on said bridge, from sunset to sunrise, at the expense of the owners thereof, such lights and other signals as may be prescribed by the Light-House Board; and the saidAlterations. structure shall be changed and altered 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. 3. That all railway companies desiring the use of said bridgeRights of railroads to use. shall have and be entitled to equal rights and privileges relative to the passage of cars over the same and the approaches thereto upon the payment of a reasonable compensation for such use; and in case the owner or owners of said bridge and several companies, or any one of them, desiring such use shall 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 hearing of the allegations and proofs of the parties.
And equal privileges in the use of said bridge shall beTelegraph, etc., companies. granted to all telegraph and telephone companies. Sec. 4. That this Act shall be null and void if actual constructionCommencement and completion. of the bridge herein authorized is not commenced within one year and completed within three years from the date hereof. Sec. 5. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this Act is herebyAmendment. expressly reserved. Approved, March 3, 1901.