Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 29.djvu/659

 FIFTY-FOURTH CONGRESS. Sess. II. Ch. 381. 1897. 629 under such reasonable rules and regulations as may be prescribed by said board of supervi ors and approved by the Secretary of War. Sec. 2. That any bridge built under this Act and subject to its limi- m{‘,“1§;Q‘{1mu@:'“°*“*° tations shall be a lawful structure, and shall be recognized and known ` as a post route, upon which no charge shall be made for the transmission over the same of the mails, the troops, and the munitions of war of the United States, and it shall enjoy the rights and privilege of other post roads in the United States; and an equal privilege 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 bridge P°'°’"'°l°g"""‘ and its approaches for postal telegraph purposes. Sec. 3. That said bridge shall be constructed as a wagon bridge, and D""' °l’*“'· shall contain a drawspan giving a clear opening of a width to be determined by the Secretary of War, which drawspan shall be maintained over the main channel of the river at an accessible and navigable point, and said bridge other than the drawspan shall be at right angles to the _ current of the river at high water: Provided, That said draw shall be §'°;'f’°"dn opened promptly by said company upon rea enable signal for the pas- p° mg "' sage of boats and rafts; and said board of supervisors shall maintain, at its own expense, from sunset to sunrise, such lights or other signals L*$h‘“·°‘°· on said bridge as the Light-House Board shall prescribe. No bridge g¤:l*¤¤¤·=¢¤¤ nvishall be erected or maintained under the authority of this Act which g° ° ` shall at any time unreasonably obstruct the free navigation of said river; and if any bridge erected under such authority shall, in the opinion of the Secretary of War, unreasonably obstruct such navigation, he is hereby authorized to cause the entire removal thereof or such change or alteration of said bridge to be made as will eifectually obvi- c"“¤°•· ate such obstruction, and all such alterations shall be made and all such obstructions shall be removed at the expense of the owner or owners of _ said bridge; and in case of any litigation arising trom any obstruction L‘“g““°“· or alleged obstruction to the free navigation of said river, caused or alleged to be caused by said bridge, the case may be brought in the district coui·t of the United States of the State of Mississippi in whose jurisdiction any portion of said obstruction or bridge may be located: E . . Provided further, That nothing in this Act shall be so construed as to ..q.,Z$§d°T"g l"" "°° repeal or modity any of the provisions of the law now existing in reference to the protection of the navigation of rivers, or to exempt this bridge from the operations of the same. www f W SEc. 4. That any bridge authorized to be constructed under this Act .,p.·6»·¤ p1i'¤:,¤w€" °° shall be built and located under and subject to such regulations tbr the security of navigation of said river as the Secretary of War shall prescribe; and to secure that object the said board of supervisors 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 one—half mile above and one-half mile below the proposed location the high and low water lines upon the banks of the river, the direction and strength of the currents at low and at high water, with the soundings accurately showing the bed of the stream. and the location of any other bridge or bridges, such map to be sufficiently in detail to enable the Secretary of YVar to judge of the proper location of said bridge, and shall furnish such other information as may be required for n. full and satisfactory understanding of the subject; and until the said plan and location of the bridge are approved by the Secretary of War the bridge shall not be commenced or built, and should any change be made in the plans of said bridge during the progress of its construction such changes shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of War. Comm d Sec. 5. That this Act shall be null and void if actual construction of c,,m,,i,,,,,,',§Y°'”°"°“" the bridge herein authorized be not commenced within one year and _ completed within three years from the date hereof: Provided, That f§,‘Q;§,,j'g’;,m,,_m_ Congress reserves the right to alter, amend, or repeal this Act whenever the public interests so require. Approved, March 3, 1897.