Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 27.djvu/582

 556 rnrrrsnooxn oosennss. sess. 11. cu. 201. 1893. over the railroad or public highways leading to the said bridge; and it shall enjoy the rights and privileges of other post roads in the United States; and the United States shall have the right of way across said PWM *¤l¤g¤*=1>l¤- bridge and its approaches for postal-telegraph purposes, and all tele- Ts·1¤s*r¤x>1¤.·>t¤~.c<>m- graph and telephone companies shall have equal rights and privileges ’°'"°°' in constructing and maintaining their lines across said bridge. C°¤¤*m°“°¤· Sec. 3. That said bridge shall be constructed as a drawbridge of D¤Wl>¤‘*•!s¤· such character of construction, and having such width of draw·opeuings and such elevation above high water as the Secretary of War may D¤·r+>1>¤¤i¤g¤ prescribe; and the draw-openings of said bridge shall be so protected and arranged that water crafts can be worked through them at any Piers- and all times; and thepiers of said bridge shall be parallel with and the mw bridge itself at right angles to the c1u·rent of the river: Provided, That 8said draw shall be opened promptly upon reasonable signals for the passage of boats; and said company or corporation shall maintain, at ¤€’**·’· °*°~ its own expense, irom sunset until sunrise, such lights or other signals on said bridge as the Light-House Board shall prescribe. No bridge shall be erected or maintained under authority of this act which at any lI¤¤b¤¤¤¤¤¤1 ¤¤ri· time substantially or materially obstructs the free navigation of said ‘”°°°‘ river; and if any bridge erected under such authority shall, in the opinion of the Secretary of War, obstruct such navigation, he is hereby authorized to cause such change or alteration of said bridge to be made as will effectnally obviate such obstruction; and all such alterations shall be made and all such obstructions be removed at the exri¤s¤¤¤¤- pense of the owner or owners of said bridge, and in case of any litigation arising trom any obstruction or alleged obstruction to the free · navigation of said river, caused or alleged to be caused by said bridge, the cause may be brought in the circuit court of the United States or the State of Alabama in whose jurisdiction any portion of said obstrucjeg2f}"! '"• ¤°* tion or bridge may be located: Provided further, That nothing in this ` act shall be so construed as to repeal or modify any of the provisions of law now existing in reference to the protection of the navigation of rivers or exempt this bridge from the operation of the same. mgjozfpxkilf "“‘ Sec. 4. That all railroad companies desiring the use of said bridge shall have and be entitled to equal rights and privileges relative to the passage of railway trains over the same, and over approaches Tm'- thereto, upon payment of areasonable compensation for such use; and in case the owner or owners of said bridge and the several railroad companies, or any of them, desiring such use shall fail to agree upon the sum or sums tobe paid and upon 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. ,P§,°,j,"$§',§{_,‘]f_};‘{,;’°° Sec.  That any bridge authorized to beconstructed under this act shall be built and located under and subject to such regulations for the security of 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 tbr his examination and approval a design and drawing of the bridge, and a map of location giving, for the space of 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, the directions and strength of currents at all stages, and soundings accurately showing the bed of the stream, and the location of any other bridge or bridges and shall furnish such other information as may be required for a inll and satisiactory understanding of the subject; and until the said plan and location of the bridge are approved by the C"““!"· Secretary of Wair the bridge shall not be built, and if any change is required by the Secretary of War in the plan of said bridge while the same is in progress of construction, or after its completion, or if the entire removal of said bridge is required by him at any time, the cost of such change or removal shall be paid by the company owning or controlling said bridge.