When petition made for bridge over navigable rivers.

CONSTRUCTION OF BRIDGES OVER NAVIGABLE STREAMS.

An Act to authorize the construction of bridges over navigable streams and waters in certain cases, for the continuance of public highways over such water as avenues of public travel; to authorize the levying, spreading and collecting of special taxes and assessments for any such bridge; to authorize the borrowing of money and issuance of bonds under certain restrictions, regulations and limitations; to provide for the recovery by the owners of property or property rights abutting upon or adjoining any such highway of their damages resulting by reason of the construction of such bridge and providing the procedure for recovery of such damages; and to prescribe the powers and duties of certain officers with reference thereto.

[Act 398, P. A. 1919.]

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

(529) SECTION 1. Whenever in any county within this state there are any two or more organized townships, or any one or more townships and one or more villages, or one or more townships and one or more cities, or any combination of townships, villages and cities, or any combination of any of them, lying contiguous in such county, through the territory of which extends any public highway which crosses within said county and within or along the boundary line of any such township, village or city, any navigable water or stream, or which intersects with or leads to any highway so crossing such navigable water or stream, any one or more of such townships, villages or cities may, by its or their respective legislative bodies, petition the board of supervisors of said county for the construction or reconstruction of a bridge over such stream or water, whereon such highway may be continued as an avenue of public travel between points upon opposite sides of such water or stream. Such petition may be presented at any regular meeting of the said board of supervisors or at any special meeting thereof duly called for the Proviso, cer- presentation of such petition: Provided, That the provisions of this act shall apply only to counties having a population of four hundred thousand or more.

When presented.

tain counties

only.

Request for special meeting.

Supervisors notified.

(530) SEC. 2. Unless such petition is to be presented to the annual meeting of said board of supervisors, or at an earlier meeting already appointed by the board to be held at least thirty days prior to such annual meeting, it may contain a request for a special meeting of said board, and may be delivered to the clerk of said board, who shall have authority, and whose duty it shall be, to call a special meeting of said board not more than twenty nor less than ten days from the time he shall receive the petition. It shall be the said clerk's duty to inform all the members of said board to be found in the county of such meeting and the purpose thereof at least five days before such meeting is to be held,

notice to

board, etc.

and at whatever meeting such petition is to be heard. It Written shall be the duty of such petitioner to give notice in writing township to the township board at each township named and to the common council of any city and to the village council of any village named of the intention of the petitioner to ask for the hearing upon the same at such meeting, and of the purpose thereof. Such notice shall be delivered to the clerk of every township, city and village named, and if such clerk is not readily found, then to any member of the township board, and the mayor or some member of the common council of the city or cities named, and to a member of the council of the village or villages named, as the case may be, at least seven days before said board is to be asked to hear said petition. For the purpose of facilitating by said board their de- Plans and termination of the kind and cost of the bridge proposed to be specifications. constructed or reconstructed, each township, city and village named in the said petition may present a plan or plans and specifications of such proposed bridge with or without drawings, and an estimate of each as to the cost thereof.

board, etc.

(531) SEC. 3. Upon presentation of any such petition Authority of said board of supervisors shall proceed to a consideration thereof. The said board shall have authority to make any necessary surveys, procure any appropriate plans and specifications, obtain estimates of probable cost of construction and take any other appropriate step for procuring necessary or desirable information with reference to the project embodied in such petition. Said board shall have full authority, by a majority vote of those voting thereon, to grant or deny the object of such petition and to determine the character and type of construction of any such bridge ordered thereon. The several boards of supervisors of the counties of the state shall each likewise have authority, upon their own initiative, respectively, in a proper case, in the discretion of any such board, to order the construction of a bridge over any navigable stream or water within the county, as herein before provided in cases when a petition is presented to a board of supervisors by a city, village or township for the construction of a bridge. Whenever in any case a bridge shall be Bascule ordered hereunder, said board shall determine and designate only a bascule type of bridge. No part of such bridge or its approaches shall be suspended over such highway.

(532) SEC. 4. In those counties in which the county road system, so-called, shall have been adopted, the board of supervisors shall upon the ordering of any such bridge duly certify such action to the county road commissioners of such county. Thereupon the said county road commissioners shall promptly proceed to establish a road district for the purpose of constructing or reconstructing such bridge. Said commissioners shall have authority to procure, if need be, any further surveys, plans, specifications and estimates of cost for such work of construction or reconstruction in addition to those

bridge.

In case

county road

system pre

vails.

not final.

which may have been obtained by the said board of superSpecifications visors. Such specifications shall not be final, but may be changed by the county road commissioners, but not after the hearing of objections hereinafter provided for, except after Proviso, type due notice and hearing thereon: Provided, Said road commissioners shall not at any time change the type of bridge ordered by the board of supervisors.

of bridge.

Special

assessment

district.

Hearing of objections.

Notice, publication of.

(533) SEC. 5. Said county road commissioners shall speedily prepare a proposed special assessment district for such work, fixing it by resolution which shall embody a description of the boundaries thereof. They shall fix a time and place to hear objections to such proposed special assessment district and give notice thereof as hereinafter provided. Such notice shall set forth a description of the boundaries of the proposed special assessment district or the several parcels of land proposed to be assessed on account of such work, and the time and place of hearing. At this hearing all parties or persons interested shall be given an opportunity to present their objections, if any, to such proposed special assessment district. Notice of this hearing shall be given by the county road commissioners at least ten days prior to such hearing by causing a notice thereof to be published at least once in each week for two weeks in succession in some newspaper published and of general circulation in such county, and by posting in public and conspicuous places five notices in each township, city and village within which the assessment district lies in whole or in part, and within the limits of such district, and also by posting such notice in any public place which may be provided in the county seat Changes in for the posting of public notices. At this hearing the county specifications. road commissioners shall, subject to the foregoing, make any changes in the specifications deemed by them advisable, with out further notice or hearing, provided such changes do not increase the estimates more than ten per cent. If they do increase the estimates more than ten per cent then a new hearing shall be had and notice thereof given, as in the first instance. At said hearing the county road commissioners may alter the boundaries of the proposed assessment district: Provided, however, That if said district is enlarged or otherwise altered so as to embrace additional lands, hearing thereon after due notice shall be had as hereinbefore provided.

When new hearing.

Proviso, altered district.

Final order.

Powers, etc., of commissioners.

(534) SEC. 6. After hearing objections, the county road commissioners shall make their final order in writing, under their hands, determining that the proposed improvement shall be made according to the final specifications adopted by them, a copy of which specifications shall be attached to said order. (535) SEC. 7. In so far as applicable hereto, the same powers are hereby conferred, and the same duties are hereby imposed upon said county road commissioners for the prosecution, completion and payment of such improvement, as are

conferred and imposed by section four thousand six hundred eighty-four; section four thousand six hundred eighty-six to section four thousand six hundred eighty-nine, both inclusive; section four thousand six hundred ninety-one to section four thousand seven hundred six, both inclusive; section four thousand seven hundred eleven to section four thousand seven hundred thirty-one, both inclusive; section four thousand seven hundred thirty-three to section four thousand seven hundred forty-five, both inclusive, of the compiled laws of nineteen hundred fifteen as amended and as supplemented by act number one hundred twenty-five of the public acts of nineteen hundred seventeen, upon county road commissioners on behalf of the county or improvement district with reference to works provided for in said sections and in said act, except as said act number one hundred twenty-five has been held invalid. And all the other rights created and all the other duties imposed by said sections and the said act are herewith likewise made applicable, in so far as appropriate to this act, including the method so provided for a board of review.

(536) SEC. 8. With reference to the work in this act provided for which shall be done in any county in which the county road system, so-called, shall have been adopted, like rights are hereby created and like duties are hereby imposed; the acts and proceedings of said county road commissioners hereunder shall receive like effect and validity; like rights and remedies are preserved and restricted to any township, village, city and county affected hereunder by the construction or reconstruction of any such bridge; like rights and remedies are preserved and restricted to any persons, partnerships and corporations affected by any act of said county road commissioners made in connection with or following upon the improvement herewith authorized; and like duties are hereby enjoined upon the several city, village, township and county officials of the cities, villages, townships and county affected hereunder by such improvement, as are by the sections specifically enumerated above and by the said act number one hundred twenty-five respectively created and imposed; as are given to the acts and proceedings of county road commissioners; as are preserved or restricted to township, village, cities, counties, persons, firms and corporations affected by any order or determination made under the authority of said sections or any of them or under the authority of said act number one hundred twenty-five, or are enjoined upon the several city, village, township and county officials mentioned in said sections and in said act number one hundred twentyfive with reference to the completion by county road commissioners of works of improvement provided for in said sections and in said act number one hundred twenty-five. It is the legislative intent and purpose for the purpose of effectuating this act to make applicable hereto, in so far as

Annual installments.

Apportion

ment of cost.

Announcement of decision.

Exemption.

Authority of board in cer

may be, all the rights, duties, privileges, prerogatives, restric tions and limitations which are created and imposed by the sections above enumerated and by the said act number one hundred twenty-five.

(537) SEC. 9. Such county road commissioners shall have power and it shall be their duty to determine the number of annual installments, not exceeding ten, within which the money for the construction or reconstruction of any such bridge shall be raised. It shall apportion the whole cost of such work, in percentages, as between the special assessment area to be designated by them and whatever cities, villages and townships comprising said road districts and the county, or any or all of them, as in its discretion it shall determine. Such apportionment shall be made according to the benefits from such improvement accruing to the lands within such assessment area and the benefits to the public welfare and convenience of each of the cities, villages, townships and county, or any or all of them. The number of such installments, the road district aforesaid, the said special assessment area and said apportionment shall be designated and announced by said county road commissioners as soon as practicable after the approval of said specifications for said work. No township shall be entitled to any exemption from the payment of any assessment levied against it because of being entitled to the return of any county road taxes paid by it under section twenty-six, chapter four of act number two hundred eighty-three of the public acts of nineteen hundred nine.

See section 90.

(538) SEC. 10. Whenever in any county in which the tain counties. county road system, so-called, shall not have been adopted, the board of supervisors shall, pursuant to sections one and two hereof, have ordered a bridge to be constructed or reconstructed, full authority of every necessary character shall thereupon be vested in said board to construct or reconstruct as the case may be, such bridge. In furtherance thereof, said board may delegate any of its powers and duties to any of its officers, or to its committee or committees, or to any or all of them as it may deem suitable.

In case county road system does not prevail.

Powers and duties of board.

(539) SEC. 11. SEC. 11. Thereafter in any county in which the county road system, so-called, shall not have been adopted, the board of supervisors shall proceed in such manner as it shall determine, either by the board as a whole, or by any of its officers, or its committee or committees or by any or all of them, to construct or reconstruct such bridge. For such purpose, in so far as applicable hereto, the same powers are hereby conferred, and the same duties are hereby imposed upon said board, and upon its officers, its committee or committees, or any or all of them, if said board shall determine to act through them or any of them, as are conferred and imposed by section four thousand six hundred eighty-four;