Volume 29 · 493
Public Law 54–69
To approve and ratify the construction of a bridge across the Red River, between the States of Arkansas and Texas, at a point above the town of Fulton, in Arkansas, on said river, built by the Texarkana Northern Railway Company, but now owned and operated by the Texarkana and Fort Smith Railway Company, and to authorize the latter company to maintain said bridge over said waterway, subject to certain stipulations and conditions.
Approved January 20, 1897
Statutory text
An Act
To approve and ratify the construction of a bridge across the Red River, between the States of Arkansas and Texas, at a point above the town of Fulton, in Arkansas, on said river, built by the Texarkana Northern Railway Company, but now owned and operated by the Texarkana and Fort Smith Railway Company, and to authorize the latter company to maintain said bridge over said waterway, subject to certain stipulations and conditions.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That the construction by the
Bridge across Red River, Fulton, Ark., by Texarkana and Fort Smith Railway Company approved.
Texarkana Northern Railway Company, a corporation formed for the purpose of constructing and operating a railroad northward from the town of Texarkana, in the States of Texas and Arkansas, but which has been merged into and succeeded by the corporation known as the Texarkana and Fort Smith Railway Company, of the bridge over the Red River, between the States of Arkansas and Texas, above the town of Fulton, in Arkansas, on the said river, be, and the same hereby is, approved and ratified, subject to the stipulations and conditions herein after set forth.
Sec. 2.
That said bridge, so long as maintained according to the limitations of this Act, shall be a lawful structure, and shall be known and recognized as a post route, and the same is hereby declared to be a post route, upon which no higher charge shall be made for the trans mission over the same of the mails, the troops, and the munitions of war of the United States, or for through passengers or freight passing over the same, than the rate per mile paid for their transportation over FIFTY-FOURTH CONGRESS. Sess. II. Chs. 69, 70. 1897.the railroads leading to said bridge; and the United States shall have
Postal telegraph.
the right of way across said bridge for a postal telegraph.
Sec. 3.
That said bridge shall always be provided with a suitable
Unobstructed navigation.
draw, which shall be maintained by said railroad company, and at its expense, so as not to interfere with the navigation of said river, and in such way as to render navigation through the same free, easy, and unobstructed.
Sec. 4.
That the draw provided for the said bridge shall be opened
Opening draw.
promptly, upon reasonable signal, for the passing of boats and rafts; and said railroad company shall maintain, at its own expense, from sunset until sunrise, such lights or other signals on said bridge as the
Lights.
Light-House Board shall prescribe.
Sec. 5.
That said bridge shall be under and subject to such regulations
Secretary of War to approve changes, etc.
for the security of the navigation of said river as the Secretary of War shall prescribe, and the present plan and structure of said bridge shall not be altered or changed except by consent of the Secretary of War, and with his approval of the proposed change or alteration: Provided,
Proviso.
Changes.
That any change or alteration in the said bridge which the Secretary of War may deem necessary in the interest of navigation shall be made by the said railroad company at its own expense. And if, after thirty days’ notice from the Secretary of War to the president of the railroad company, or to other parties owning or controlling said bridge, the changes or alterations required shall not be made, the Secretary may cause such changes to be made, and the cost thereof shall be recovered by suit in the name of the United States against said company in the circuit court of the United States within whose jurisdiction said bridge or any part thereof is situated.
Sec. 6.
That all railroad companies desiring the use of said bridge
Use by other companies.
shall have and be entitled to equal rights and privileges relative to the passage of railway trains over the same, and over the approaches thereto, upon payment of a reasonable compensation for such use; and in case
Compensation.
the owner or owners of said bridge and the several railroad companies, or any one of them, desiring such use, shall fail to agree upon the sum or sums to be 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.
Sec. 7.
That this Act shall be null and void if actual construction of
Commencement and completion.
the bridge herein authorized be not commenced within one year and completed within three years from the date of approval thereof.
Sec. 8.
That Congress reserves the right to alter, amend, or repeal
Amendment, etc.
this Act at any time.
Approved, .