Part III. Bridge Laws General Bridge Act of 1906 § 491. Approval of and deviation from plans When, after March 23, 1906, authority is granted by Congress to any persons to construct and maintain a bridge across or over any of the navigable waters of the United States, such bridge shall not be built or commenced until the plans and specifications for its construction, together with such drawings of the proposed construction and such map of the proposed location as may be required for a full understanding of the subject, have been submitted to the Secretary of the Army and Chief of Engineers for their approval, nor until they shall have approved such plans and specifications and the location of such bridge and accessory works; and when the plans for any bridge to be constructed under the provisions of sections 491-498 of this title, have been approved by the Chief of Engineers and by the Secretary of the Army it shall not be lawful to deviate from such plans, either before or after completion of the structure, unless the modification of such plans has previously been submitted to and received the approval of the Chief of Engineers and of the Secretary of the Army. Mar. 23, 1906, c. 1130, $1,34 Stat. 84. §492. Bridge as post route; limitation as to charges against Government; telegraph and telephone lines Any bridge built in accordance with the provisions of sections 491-498 of this title, shall be a lawful structure and shall be recognized and known as a post route, upon which no higher charge shall be made for the transmission over the same of the mails, the troops, and the munitions of war of the United States than the rate per mile paid for the transportation over any railroad, street railway, or public highway leading to said bridge; and the United States shall have the right to construct, maintain, and repair, without any charge therefor, telegraph and telephone lines across and upon said bridge and its approaches; and equal privileges in the use of said bridge and its approaches shall be granted to all telegraph and telephone companies. Mar. 23, 1906, c. 1130, § 2, 34 Stat. 85. §493. Use of railroad bridges by other railroad companies All railroad companies desiring the use of any railroad bridge built in accordance with the provisions of sections 491-498 of this title, shall be entitled to equal rights and privileges relative to the passage of railway trains or cars over the same and over the approaches thereto upon payment of a reasonable compensation for such use; and in case of any disagreement between the parties in regard to the terms of such use or the sums to be paid all matters at issue shall be determined by the Secretary of the Army upon hearing the allegations and proofs submitted to him. Mar. 23, 1906, c. 1130, § 3, 34 Stat. 85. § 494. Obstruction of navigation; alterations and removals; lights and signals; draws; tolls No bridge erected or maintained under the provisions of sections 491–498 of this title, shall at any time unreasonably obstruct the free navigation of the waters over which it is constructed, and if any bridge erected in accordance with the provisions of said sections, shall, in the opinion of the Secretary of the Army, at any time unreasonably obstruct such navigation, either on account of insufficient height, width of span, or otherwise, or if there be difficulty in passing the draw opening or the drawspan of such bridge by rafts, steamboats, or other water craft, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Army, after giving the parties interested reasonable opportunity to be heard, to notify the persons owning or controlling such bridge to so alter the same as to render navigation through or under it reasonably free, easy, and unobstructed, stating in such notice the changes required to be made, and prescribing in each case a reasonable time in which to make such changes, and if at the end of the time so specified the changes so required have not been made, the persons owning or controlling such bridge shall be deemed guilty of a violation of said sections; and all such alterations shall be made and all such obstructions: shall be removed at the expense of the persons owning or operating said bridge. The persons owning or operating any such bridge shall maintain, at their own expense, such lights and other signals thereon as the Commandant of the Coast Guard shall prescribe. If the bridge shall be constructed with a draw, then the draw shall be opened promptly by the persons owning or operating such bridge upon reasonable signal for the passage of boats and other water craft. If tolls shall be charged for the transit over any bridge constructed under the provisions of said sections, of engines, cars, street cars, wagons, carriages, vehicles, animals, foot passengers, or other passengers, such tolls shall be reasonable and just and the Secretary of the Army may, at any time, and from time to time, prescribe the reasonable rates of toll for such transit over such bridge, and the rates so prescribed shall be the legal rates and shall be the rates demanded and received for such transit. Mar. 23, 1906, c. 1130, § 4, 34 Stat. 85; Mar. 4, 1913, c. 141, § 1, 37 Stat. 736; 1946 Reorg. Plan No. 3, §§ 101–104, eff. July 16, 1946, 11 F.R. 7875, 60 Stat. 1097. § 495. Failure to comply with regulations; penalty; removal of bridge Any persons who shall fail or refuse to comply with the lawful order of the Secretary of the Army or the Chief of Engineers, made in accordance with the provisions of sections 491-498 of this title, shall be deemed guilty of a violation of said sections, and any persons who shall be guilty of a violation of said sections, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall be punished in any court of competent jurisdiction by a fine not exceeding $5,000, and every month such persons shall remain in default shall be deemed a new offense and subject such persons to additional penalties therefor; and in addition to the penalties above described the Secretary of the Army and the Chief of Engineers may, upon refusal of the persons owning or controlling any such bridge and accessory works to comply with any lawful order issued by the Secretary of the Army or Chief of Engineers in regard thereto, cause the removal of such bridge and accessory works at the expense of the persons owning or controlling such bridge, and suit for such expense may be brought in the name of the United States against such persons, and recovery had for such expense in any court of competent jurisdiction; and the removal of any structures erected or maintained in violation of the provisions of said sections, or the order or direction of the Secretary of the Army or Chief of Engineers made in pursuance thereof may be enforced by injunction, mandamus, or other summary process, upon application to the district court in the district in which such structure may, in whole or in part, exist, and proper proceedings to this end may be instituted under the direction of the Attorney General of the United States at the request of the Secretary of the Army; and in case of any litigation arising from any obstruction or alleged obstruction to navigation created by the construction of any bridge under said sections, the cause or question arising may be tried before the district court of the United States in any district which any portion of said obstruction or bridge touches. Mar. 23, 1906, c. 1130, § 5, 34 Stat. 85; Mar. 3, 1911, c. 231, §§ 289, 291, 36 Stat. 1167. 8496. Time for commencement and completion of bridge Whenever Congress shall by law authorize the construction of any bridge over or across any of the navigable waters of the United States, and no time for the commencement and completion of such bridge is named in said Act, the authority thereby granted shall cease and be null and void unless the actual construction of the bridge authorized in such Act be commenced within one year and completed within three years from the date of the passage of such Act. Mar. 23, 1906, c. 1130, § 6, 34 Stat. 86. $497. "Persons" defined The word "persons" as used in sections 491-498 of this title, shall be construed to import both the singular and the plural, as the case demands, and shall include municipalities, quasi municipal corporations, corporations, companies, and associations. Mar. 23, 1906, c. 1130, § 7,34 Stat. 86. §498. Reservation of right to alter or repeal The right to alter, amend, or repeal sections 491-498 of this title is expressly reserved as to any and all bridges which may be built in accordance with the provisions of said sections, and the United States shall incur no liability for the alteration, amendment, or repeal thereof to the owner or owners or any other persons interested in any bridge which shall have been constructed in accordance with its provisions. Mar. 23, 1906, c. 1130, § 8, 34 Stat. 86. § 511. Definitions Alteration of Bridges When used in sections 511-523 of this title, unless the context indicates otherwise The term "alteration" includes changes of any kind, reconstruction, or removal in whole or in part. The term "bridge" means a lawful bridge over navigable waters of the United States, including approaches, fenders, and appurtenances thereto, which is used and operated for the purpose of carrying railroad traffic, or both railroad and highway traffic, or if a State, county, municipality, or other political subdivision is the owner or joint owner thereof, which is used and operated for the purpose of carrying highway traffic. The term "bridge owner" means any State, county, municipality, or other political subdivision, or any corporation, association, partnership, or individual owning, or jointly owning, any bridge, and, when any bridge shall be in the possession or under the control of any trustee, receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, or lessee, such term shall include both the owner of the legal title and the person or the entity in possession or control of such bridge. The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Army acting directly or through the Chief of Engineers. The term "United States", when used in a geographical sense, includes the Territories and possessions of the United States. June 21, 1940, c. 409, § 1, 54 Stat. 497; July 16, 1952, c. 889, § 1, 66 Stat. 732. § 512. Obstruction of navigation No bridge shall at any time unreasonably obstruct the free navigation of any navigable waters of the United States. June 21, 1940, c. 409, § 2, 54 Stat. 498. § 513. Notice, hearings, and findings Whenever any bridge shall, in the opinion of the Secretary, at any time unreasonably obstruct such navigation, it shall be the duty of the Secretary, after notice to interested parties, to hold a hearing at which the bridge owner, those interested in water navigation thereunder or therethrough, those interested in either railroad or highway traffic thereover, and any other party or parties in interest shall have full opportunity to offer evidence and be heard as to whether any alteration of such bridge is needed, and if so what alterations are neeeded, having due regard to the necessity of free and unobstructed water navigation and to the necessities of the rail or highway traffic. If, upon such hearing, the Secretary determines that any alterations of such bridge are necessary in order to render navigation through or under it reasonably free, easy, and unobstructed, having due regard also for the necessities of rail or highway traffic thereover, he shall so find and shall issue and cause to be served upon interested parties an order requiring such alterations of such bridge as he finds to be reasonably necessary for the purposes of navigation. June 21, 1940, c. 409, § 3, 54 Stat. 498. |