Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 45 Part 1.djvu/1222

 SEVENTIETH CONGRESS. SEss. II. CE. 191. 1929 . 1171 ment of the bridge. After a sinking fund sufficient for such amorti- Maintenance as free g b ridg e, e tc ., after amor- zation shall have been so provided, the bridge shall thereafter be tizing costs, and trans- maintained and operated free of tolls, and the Iowa-Nebraska Amor- fer to the States, etc . tized Free Bridge Company, its successors or assigns, shall there- upon convey, by proper instrument of conveyance, all right, title, and interest in said bridge and its approaches, to the State of Nebraska and the State of Iowa, jointly, or to the highway depart- me nts ther eof, if such Sta tes or t heir hig hway dep artm ents sha ll agree to accept and to maintain and operate the same ; if such States T rans fer, if st ates re- fuse to operate as free or their highway departments refuse to agree to accept and main- bridge- tain and operate said bridge as a free bridge, then the Iowa-Nebraska Am orti zed Free Bri dge Comp any shal l co nvey sai d br idge to eith er of such States, or to either of the counties thereof in which such bridge is located in whole or in part, as shall agree to accept and to maintain and operate the same as a free bridge. Sworn statement of SEC. 7. The Iowa-Nebraska Amortized Free Bridge Company, its construction costs, etc ., successors and assigns, shall within ninety days after the completion to be filed after comple- of such bridge file with the Secretary of aand with the highway tion . departments of the States of Nebraska and Iowa, a sworn itemized statement showing the actual original cost of constructing the bridge and its approaches, the actual cost of acquiring any interest in real property necessary therefor, the actual financing and promotion costs, and the amount of bonds, debentures, or other evidences of indebted- ness issued in connection with the construction of such bridge. The I nves tiga tion by Sec. Secretary of War may, and upon request of the highway department retary of war . of either of such States shall, at any time within three years after the completion of such bridge, investigate such costs and determine the accuracy and the reasonableness of the costs alleged in the state- ment of costs so filed, and shall make a finding of the actual and reasonable costs of construction, financing, and promoting such bridge. For the purpose of such investigation the said Iowa- Nebraska Amortized Free Bridge Company, its successors and assigns, shall make available all of its records in connection with the co nstr ucti on, fina ncin g, a nd p romo tion the reof. The findings of the F indi ngs of S ecre tary ~ conclusive . Secretary of War as to the reasonable costs of the construction, financing, and promotion of the bridge shall be conclusive for the purposes mentioned in section 5 of this Act, subject only to review in a court of equity for fraud or gross mistake. SEC. 8 . Neither the Iowa. Nebraska Amortized Free Bridge Com- Interest in oompet- ing bridge company pany, its successors and assigns, or any officer or stockholder thereof, forbidden . shall directly or indirectly, own or have any interest in any other bridge competing for business with the bridge authorized by this Act. SEC. 9 . The right to sell, assign, transfer, and mortgage all the conerredt° sell, etc ., rights, powers, and privileges conferred by this Act is hereby granted to the Iowa-Nebraska Amortized Free Bridge Company, its suc- cessors and assigns, and any corporation to which or any person to whom such rights, powers, and privileges may be sold, assigned, or transferred, or who shall acquire the same by mortgage fore- closure or otherwise, is hereby authorized and empowered to exer- cise the same as fully as though conferred herein directly upon such corporation or person : Provi ded, That no such transfer shall Proviso. No transfertocome be made to any competing bridge company or to any person or peting company al- persons interested directly or indirectly in any competing bridge. towed. SEC. 10 . All contracts that may be made in connection with the construction l on- tracts to be let to ow- construction of the bridge authorized by this Act, and which shall esi bidder after adver- involve the expenditure of more than $5,000 shall be let by com- petitive bidding. Such contracts shall be advertised a reasonable time in some newspaper of general circulation published in the vicinity of such bridge ; sealed bids shall be required and the con-

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