Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 29.djvu/516

 486 FIFTY-FOURTH CONGRESS. Sess. II. C11. 13. 1897. war of the United States than the rata par mile paid for the transportation over the railroad or public highways loading to the said bridge, and 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 Postal telegraph. granted to all telegraph and telephone companies, and the United States shall have the right of way across said bridge and its approaches Zgig nm mm for postal-telegraph purposes: Provided, That the bridge herein author- R  ized to be constructed shall be so kept and managed by the company owning or operating it as to afford proper ways and means for the passage through or under it of vessels, barges, or rafts at all times, both by day and by night; and there shall be displayed 011 said bridge, I·izM¤· ¤¢¤- from sunset to sunrise, such lights aud signals as the Light·House Board shall prescribe. Changes. ctc- Sec. 3. That if said bridge, erected and maintained under the authority of this Act, shall at any time substantially or materially obstruct the frac navigation of said river or 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 affectually obviatc such obstruction, and such alteration shall be made and all such obstructions be removed at the expense of the owner or owners Lmg,u,,,,_ of said bridge; and in case of any litigation arising from any obstruction or alleged obstruction to the free navigation of said river, the casa may be brought in the district court of the United States in the State of Louisiana in which any portion of said obstruction or bridge may bo hu not located: Provided, That nothing in this Act shall he saconstmcd as to mum. repeal or modify any of the provisions of law now existing in reference to the protection of the navigation of rivers or to mmmpt said bridge from the operation of the same. UP W °**·°* °°¤· Sim. 4. That all railroad companies desiring the use of said bridge _ pm°° shall have and be entitled to equal rights and privileges relative to tha passage of railway trains over the same, and over the approaches ¤¤¤¤1>¤¤¤·¤¤¤- thereto, upon payment of a reasonable compensation for such use; or, in case of disagreement, upon such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by the Secretary of War upon hearing the allegations and proofs of the parties in interest. a s“l_j,'§j“'1§°* ‘;*;' *" Sec. 5. That the bridge authorized to be constructed under this Act; PP P °°’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, zmd to secure that object the said company or corporation shall submit to the Secretary of War, for his examination and approval, a. design and drawings of said bridge and a, map of tho location, prepared with reference to a kn own datum plane, upon prescribed scale, furnished by the Engineer officcr having supervision of said river, and giving for the space of two miles above and two miles below the proposed location of the bridge the topography of the banks of the river, with show lines at high and low water, the direction and strength of the currents at all stages, and the soundings, accurately showing the bed of the stream, the location of any other bridge or bridges, and shall furnish such other information as may be required for 2. full and satisfactory understanding of the subject; and until the said plans and location of the bridge are approved by the Secretary of War the bridge shall not be built, and Ch··¤:·»—- should any change be made in the plan of the said bridge during the process of construction, such change shall be subject: to tha approval of the Secretary of War, and said structure shall be changed at the cost and expense of tho owners thereof from time to time as the Secretary 0; WV:t1r njay direct, so as to preserve the frac and convenient navigation 0 smc mver. c£_¤¤;=;¤;¤;_¤¤¤·>¤¤ ¤¤¢* Sec. 6. That this Act; shall be null and void if actual construction of P  the bridge herein authorized be not commenced within one year and completed within three years from the date hereof. Amvndmwt- SBC. '{. That y right: to alter, amend, or repeal this Act is hereby express y rescrv. Approved, J anuury 13, 1897.