Chapter 632. To authorize the Cairo and Tennessee River Railroad Company to construct a bridge across the Tennessee River
748 words·~3 min read·
/statutes-at-large/vol-34/chapter-632-387241·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
CHAP. 632.— An Act To authorize the Cairo and Tennessee River Railroad Company to construct a bridge across the Tennessee River. March 9, 1906. [[H. R. 14589](/us/bill/34/hr/14589).] [[Public, No. 39](/us/pl/34/39).] *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*, Tennessee River. Ky.Cairo and Tennessee River Railroad Company may bridge That the Cairo and Tennessee River Railroad Company, a corporation created and organized under the laws of the States of Tennessee and Kentucky, be, and is hereby, 57authorized to construct and maintain, for the passage of railway trains, a bridge with single or double track, and approaches thereto, over theLocation.
Tennessee River between Brandon’s Mill, Calloway County, Kentucky, and Birmingham, Marshall County, Kentucky. 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 may 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 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 the power to require such other information as he may deem necessary for a full understanding of the subject. Any change made in the plan of said bridgeChanges. 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 itsLawful structure and post route. limitations 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 or the troops and munitions of war of the United States over the same than the rate per mile paid for the transportation over the railroad or the approaches leading to said bridge, 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 said bridgeTelegraph, etc., rights. and its approaches for postal, telegraph, and telephone purposes.
Sec. 4. That the said bridge shall be constructed with its center lineUnobstructed navigation. substantially at right angles to the current of the river, and as a drawbridge, so that free and unobstructed passageway may be secured to all water craft navigating said river. The draw shall be openedOpening draw. 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 may prescribe.
Sec. 5. That all railroad companies desiring the use of said bridgeUse by other roads. 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 case the owner or owners of said bridge and the several railroadCompensation. companies or any one of them 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 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 expresslyAmendmentTime of construction. reserved; and this Act shall be null and void if actual construction of the bridge herein authorized be not commenced within one year and completed within three years from the approval of this Act. Approved, March 9, 1906.