Chapter 714. To authorize the Chicago, Saint Louis and New Orleans Railroad Company to construct a bridge across the Tennessee River near Gilbertsville, Kentucky
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CHAP. 714.— An Act To authorize the Chicago, Saint Louis and New Orleans Railroad Company to construct a bridge across the Tennessee River near Gilbertsville, Kentucky. March 17, 1904. [[S. 4387](/us/bill/58/s/4387).] [[Public, No. 55](/us/pl/58/55).] *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,* Tennessee River. Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad Company may bridge, near Gilbertsville, Ky. That the Chicago, Saint Louis and New Orleans Railroad Company, a corporation created and organized under the laws of the States of Kentucky.
Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana, be, and is hereby, authorized to construct and maintain, for the passage of railway trains, a bridge with single or double track, and approaches thereto, over the Tennessee River, between the counties of Marshall and Livingston, in the State of Kentucky, at a point about one-half a mile upstream from the present bridge of the said company near Gilbertsville: *Provided,* That upon completion of the bridge*Proviso*.Removal of old bridge. herein authorized the said company shall promptly remove the present bridge.
Sec. 2. That the said bridge shall be located and built under andSecretary of War to approve plans, etc. subject to such regulations for the security of navigation as shall be prescribed by the Secretary of War, and the said company shall submit to the Secretary of War, for his examination and approval, a design and drawing of the bridge and a map of the location, giving for the space of a mile above and a 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, the soundings accurately showing the bed of the stream, and the location of the former bridge of the said company; and upon such plan having been approved by the Secretary of War, the said company is authorized to construct the said bridge upon the plan and location so approved.
The Secretary of War shall have power to require such other information as he may deem necessary for a full understanding of the subject.Changes. Any change made in the plan of said bridge during the. progress of construction or after completion shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of War; and the said company shall, at its own expense, make such changes in said bridge as the Secretary of War may at any time direct in the interest of navigation. Sec. 3. 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 no higher charge shall be made for the transmission of mails and the troops and munitions of war of the United Stales over the same than the rate per mile paid for the transportation over the railroad or approaches leading to the said bridge; and it shall enjoy the rights and privileges of other post-roads in theTelegraph, etc., rights.
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 its approaches for postal, telegraph, and telephone purposes. 85 Sec. 4. That the said bridge shall be constructed with its center lineDrawbridge. substantially at right angles to the current of the river, and as a drawbridge,Unobstructed navigation. so that a free and unobstructed passageway may be secured to all water craft navigating said river.
The draw shall be opened promptly, upon reasonable signals, for the passage of boats or vessels, and the said company shall maintain at its own expense, from sunsetLights, etc. to sunrise, such lights or other signals as the Light-House Board shall prescribe. Sec. 5. That ail railroad companies desiring the use of the saidUse by other roads. bridge shall have and be entitled to equal rights and privileges relative to the passage of railway trains over the same, and over the approaches thereto, upon the payment of reasonable compensation for such use; and in ease the owner or owners of said bridge, and the several rail-road 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 in issue between them shall be decided by the Secretary of War upon the hearing of the allegations and proofs of the parties.
Sec. 6. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this Act is expresslyAmendment. reserved; and this Act shall be null and void if actual construction ofTime of construction. the bridge herein authorized be not commenced within one year and completed within three years from the approval of this Act. Approved, March 17, 1904.