1625-0073 Stat/Authority

Page 99

TITLE 33—NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS

§ 525

time as the Secretary, for good cause shown,
may allow.

§ 524. Applicability of administrative procedure
provisions

(c) Construction, reconstruction, or alteration of
bridges not begun on July 1, 1939
Any bridge (except a bridge to which subsection (b) of this section applies) the construction, reconstruction, or alteration of which was
required by an order of the Secretary issued
prior to July 1, 1939, and was not begun before
such date, shall be subject to the provisions of
this subchapter as though such order had not
been issued, and compliance with the provisions
of this subchapter and with such orders as may
be issued thereunder shall be considered to constitute compliance with such order issued prior
to July 1, 1939, and with the provisions of law
under which it was issued.

In the administration of this Act, hearings and
other procedures shall be exempted from the
provisions of subchapter II of chapter 5, and
chapter 7, of title 5, except as to the requirements of section 552 of title 5.

(June 21, 1940, ch. 409, § 12, 54 Stat. 501.)
§ 523. Relocation of bridges
If the owner of any bridge and the Secretary
shall agree that in order to remove an obstruction to navigation, or for any other purpose, a
relocation of such bridge or the construction of
a new bridge upon a new location would be preferable to an alteration of the existing bridge,
such relocation or new construction may be carried out at such new site and upon such terms as
may be acceptable to the bridge owner and the
Secretary, and the cost of such relocation or
new construction, including also any expense of
changes in and additions to rights-of-way, stations, tracks, spurs, sidings, switches, signals,
and other railroad facilities and property, and
relocation of shippers required for railroad connection with the bridge at the new site, shall be
apportioned as between the bridge owner and
the United States in the manner which is provided for in section 516 of this title in the case
of an alteration and the share of the United
States paid from the appropriation authorized in
section 518 of this title: Provided, That nothing
in this section shall be construed as requiring
the United States to pay any part of the expense
of building any bridge across a navigable stream
which the Secretary of Transportation shall not
find to be, in fact, a relocation of an existing
bridge.
(June 21, 1940, ch. 409, § 13, 54 Stat. 502; July 16,
1952, ch. 889, § 4, 66 Stat. 733; Pub. L. 97–449,
§ 2(d)(1), Jan. 12, 1983, 96 Stat. 2440.)
AMENDMENTS
1983—Pub. L. 97–449 substituted ‘‘Secretary of Transportation’’ for ‘‘Secretary of War’’. See Transfer of
Functions note below.
1952—Act July 16, 1952, struck out ‘‘used for railroad
traffic’’ after ‘‘owner of any bridge’’.
TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS
Section 6(g)(3) of Pub. L. 89–670 transferred functions,
powers, and duties of Secretary of the Army [formerly
War] and other officers and offices of Department of
the Army [formerly War] relating to obstructive
bridges under this subchapter to Secretary of Transportation. Pub. L. 97–449 amended this section to reflect
transfer made by section 6(g)(3) of Pub. L. 89–670, and
repealed section 6(g)(3).

(July 16, 1952, ch. 889, § 3, 66 Stat. 733.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
This Act, referred to in text, is act July 16, 1952, ch.
889, 66 Stat. 732, which enacted this section and amended sections 511, 516, and 523 of this title. For complete
classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables.
CODIFICATION
Section was not enacted as part of act June 21, 1940,
ch. 409, 54 Stat. 497, which comprises this subchapter.
‘‘Subchapter II of chapter 5, and chapter 7, of title 5’’
and ‘‘section 552 of title 5’’ substituted in text for ‘‘the
Administrative Procedure Act (60 Stat. 237)’’ and ‘‘section 3 thereof’’, respectively, on authority of Pub. L.
89–554, § 7(b), Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 631, the first section
of which enacted Title 5, Government Organization and
Employees.

SUBCHAPTER III—GENERAL BRIDGE
AUTHORITY
§ 525. Construction and operation of bridges
(a) Consent of Congress
The consent of Congress is granted for the construction, maintenance, and operation of bridges
and approaches thereto over the navigable waters of the United States, in accordance with the
provisions of this subchapter.
(b) Approval of plans
The location and plans for such bridges shall
be approved by the Secretary of Transportation
before construction is commenced, and, in approving the location and plans of any bridge, the
Secretary may impose any specific conditions
relating to the maintenance and operation of
the structure which the Secretary may deem
necessary in the interest of public navigation,
and the conditions so imposed shall have the
force of law. This subsection shall not apply to
any bridge over waters which are not subject to
the ebb and flow of the tide and which are not
used and are not susceptible to use in their natural condition or by reasonable improvement as
a means to transport interstate or foreign commerce.
(c) Private highway toll bridges
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections
(a) and (b) of this section, it shall be unlawful to
construct or commence the construction of any
privately owned highway toll bridge until the
location and plans thereof shall also have been
submitted to and approved by the highway department or departments of the State or States
in which the bridge and its approaches are situated; and where such bridge shall be between
two or more States and the highway departments thereof shall be unable to agree upon the
location and plans therefor, or if they, or either
of them, shall fail or refuse to act upon the location and plans submitted, such location and
plans then shall be submitted to the Secretary
of Transportation and, if approved by the Sec-