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 the department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall not find to be, in fact, a relocation of an existing bridge.

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Terms Used In 33 USC 523

  • alteration: includes changes of any kind, reconstruction, or removal in whole or in part. See 33 USC 511
  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
  • 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. See 33 USC 511
  • 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 a case under title 11, or lessee, such terms shall include both the owner of the legal title and the person or the entity in possession or control of such bridge. See 33 USC 511
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating. See 33 USC 511
  • United States: when used in a geographical sense, includes the Territories and possessions of the United States. See 33 USC 511