Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 25.djvu/383

 FIFTIETH CONGRESS. Sess. I. CHS. 680, 685. 1888. 337 regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of Vi/'ar; and until said Tplan and location of said bridge are a proved by the Secretary of VN ar the construction of said bridge Shad not be commenced; and should any change be made in the plan of said bridge, during the progress of the work of construction, such change shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of War. Sec. 5. _That this act shall be null and void if actual construction Cemmeneemenrand of the bridge therein authorized be not commenced within one year °°mplm°°` and completed within three years from the date thereof. ` Sec. 6. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this act is hereby Amendment. expressly reserved; and the right to require any changes in said structure, or its removal. at the ex ense of the owners thereof. whenever the Secretary of War shall decide that the public interest requires it, is also expressly reserved. Approved, July 19, 1888. CHAP. 685.-An act to authorize the building of a railroad bridge at Fort Smith, July 19, 1888- Arkansas. 1*; Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That it shall be DF°QS¤;{*hi{’¤4jS§*¤d lawful for the ort Smith, Paris and Dardanelle Railway Company, ogingiiiyamaitddg a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Arkansas, to §§§"‘S'},§§§ f;;" “° construct and maintain a bridge, and approaches thereto, over the` Arkansas River, at a point on said river at or near the city of Fort Smith, in the state of Arkansas, and to lay on and over said bridge a railroad track or tracks for the more perfect connection of any railroad or railroads that are or shall hereafter be constriwted to the said river, on either or both sides thereof, at or opposite said point, under the limitations and conditions hereinafter provided; said bridge shall be constructed to rovide for the passage of railway trains, and, at R¤uw%y,w¤.go¤,¤¤4 the option of the huilders and owners thereof, may be used for the f°°° b" g°‘ passage of wagons and vehicles of all kinds, for the transit of animals of all kinds, and for foot-passengers for such reasonable rates of toll as may be approved from time to time by the Secretary of War. Sec. 2. That any bridge built under this act and subject to its lim- mwguiauictumaud itations shall be a lawful structure, and shall be recognized and p°“"°""" known as a post-route, upon which also no higher charge shall be made for the transmission over the same of the mails, troops, and the munitions of war, or other property of the United States, than the rate per mile paid for the transportation of the same over the railroads or public highways leading to the said bridge, and it shall enjoy the rights and privileges of other post-roads in the United States. Equal privileges in the use of said ridge shall be granted to all telegraph com ianies; and the United States shall have the right of way across said bridge and its approaches for postahtelegraph Postal eenegmpn ur ioses. · P Site. 3. That the said bridge shall be constructed with a draw or Draw. pivot s mn which shall be over the main channel of the river at an accessiiile navigable point, and the openings on each side of the pivot pier shall not be less than one hundred and sixty feet in the clear, and, as nearly as practicable, both of said openings shall be accessible at all sta es of water; that the spans be not less than ten Spensfeet above extreme Tiigh-water mark, as understood at the point of location, to the lowest point of the superstructure of said bridge; that the piers and draw rests of said bridge shall be built parallel with the current at that stage of the river which is most important for navigation, and the bridge itself at right angles thereto; and that no ripra or other outside protection for imperfect foundations be permitted) to approach nearer than four feet to the surface of the water at its extreme low stage, or otherwise to encroach upon STAT L—\`OL XXv——22