Chapter 312. To authorize and require an extension of the street railway lines of the Washington Railway and Electric Company, and for other purposes
993 words·~5 min read·
/statutes-at-large/vol-38/chapter-312-3020234·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
CHAP. 312.— An Act To authorize and require an extension of the street railway lines of the Washington Railway and Electric Company, and for other purposes. September 29, 1914. [[S. 4274](/us/bill/63/s/4274).] [[Public, No. 204](/us/pl/63/204).] *Be a enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*, District of Columbia. Washington Railway and Electric Company to extend line on Portland Street. That the Washington Railway and Electric Company, of the District of Columbia be, and it is hereby, authorized and required to construct an electric railway, beginning where its present tracts on Nichols Avenue intersect Portland Street southeast, thence along Portland Street in a westerly *Proviso*.
Overhead trolley. Grade crossing condition.direction to Fourth Street southwest: *Provided*, That said railway shall be constructed and operated by overhead electric system and may cross the tracks of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad on grade, on condition only that before any of the cars of the said Washington Railway and Electric Company shall cross such tracks said last-named company shall, at its own expense, install at such crossing an automatic safety device of such style and pattern as will make travel over said crossing safe, and which before being operated shall be inspected and approved by the Commissioners of the District of Columbia.
Sec. 2. Portland Street. Condemning land for opening. Vol. 34, p. 151. That the Commissioners of the District of Columbia be, and they are hereby, authorized and directed to institute in the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, within thirty days after the passage of this Act, in accordance with the provisions of subchapter one of chapter fifteen of the Code of Laws for the District of Columbia, a proceeding in rem to condemn the land that may be necessary for the opening of Portland Street as laid down on the permanent system of highways of the District of Columbia contained Vol. 27, p. 532.in an Act of Congress approved March second, eighteen hundred and ninety-three, entitled “An Act to provide a permanent system of highways in the part of the District of Columbia lying Vol. 30, p. 519.outside of cities,” as amended by an Act of Congress approved June twenty-eighth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, and other Acts amendatory *Proviso.* Damages assessed as benefits.thereof: *Provided*, That the entire amount found to be due and awarded by the jury in said proceedings as damages for and in respect of the land to be condemned for said extension, plus the cost and expenses of said proceedings, shall be assessed by the jury as Appropriation for expenses.benefits; and that there is hereby appropriated out of the revenues of the District of Columbia an amount sufficient to pay the necessary costs and expenses of the said condemnation proceedings taken Payment of awards.pursuant hereto and for the payment of the amount awarded as damages, 725to be repaid to the District of Columbia from the assessments for benefits and covered into the Treasury to the credit of the revenues of the District of Columbia.
Sec. 3. That the street railway extension provided for in sectionTime of construction. one hereof shall be begun within three months after the judgment has been made final in the condemnation proceedings provided for in section two, and shall be completed, with cars running thereon, within a period of one year from said date; and the said Washington Railway and Electric Company shall, within thirty days from theGuarantee bond. date of the final judgment in the said condemnation proceedings, deposit with the collector of taxes of the District of Columbia the sum of $1,000 to guarantee the construction of said extension within the prescribed time, and if said extension is not completed, with cars running thereon, within the prescribed time, said $1,000 shall be forfeited to the District of Columbia.
Sec. 4. That, in addition to the deposit hereinbefore referred to,Deposit for cost of inspection, etc. the said company shall deposit such further sum or sums as the commissioners may require to cover the cost of inspection and the cost of changes to public constructions or appurtenances in public highways caused by the construction of said extension. Sec. 5. That all plans of location and construction of said extensionPlans, etc., to be approved by Commissioners. shall be subject to the approval of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, and all excavations in public highways shall be made under permits from said commissioners and subject to regulations prescribed by them.
That said extension shall be constructed in a substantial and durable manner, subject to the inspection of said commissioners, and all changes to existing construction and appurtenances in public space shall be made at the expense of said railway. Sec. 6. That the said Washington Railway and Electric CompanyRights and duties. shall have, over and respecting the extension of its lines herein provided for, the same rights, powers, and privileges that it has by its charter and amendments or by law over and respecting its routes, and shall be subject, in respect thereto, to all the other provisions and requirements, duties and obligations of its charter and amendments and of law.
That in addition to the obligation placed upon said company by its charter and law regarding the maintenance ofGrading adjacent highways, etc. the space between its rails and tracks and two feet adjacent thereto on each side thereof the said company shall, in connection with its track construction and simultaneously therewith, grade the highways through which its tracks shall be extended, under the provisions of this Act, for a distance of two feet outside the outer rails of its tracks to such section and profile as may be approved by the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, and shall bear and defray all of the costs of such grading, which shall be done to the entire satisfaction of said commissioners.
Sec. 7. That Congress reserves the right to alter, amend, or repealAmendment. this Act. Approved, September 29, 1914.