Report on Bridging the Mississippi River Between Saint Paul, Minn., and St. Louis, Mo (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1878 Excerpt: ...United States Supreme Court, the reports of which give us all the information we could desire up to that time. The whole subject is here so thoroughly considered that it is certain that no reasonable view could be taken of the subject at that time that was not then presented and discussed. It naturally furnishes us a good point of beginning. From these reports we learn that the National Road as it was often called, reached the bauks of the Ohio at Wheeling where the passage between Wheeling and Zane's Island by ferry was found dilatory anil precarious by day, and ordinarily useless at night, being frequently impassable on account of ice, and that a bridge being much desired by the people of Ohio and Virginia, acts were passed in 1816 by both those States, authorizing a bridge across the river at Wheeling, but which provided that if such bridge should be so constructed as to injure the navigation it should be treated as a public nuisance, and he liable to abatement as other public nuisances. Ten years were allowed for the completion of the bridge. By an act of Virginia in 1836, certain facilities for the reorganization of the bridge company were conferred, and by the consent of Ohio the time was extended ten years longer. This company constructed a continuous truss-bridge from Zane's Island to the Ohio or western shore. In March, 1847, the legislature of Virginia passed an act reviving and continuing certain parts of the former acts, and providing for the reorganization of the corporation "with power to erect and keep a wire suspension-bridge on and from Zane's Island to and upon the main Virginia shore or bank at the city of Wheeling." This act contained the proviso--That if the said bridge shall be so erected as to obstruct the Ohio River, as nav...