City of Superior v. Roemer

141 N.W. 250, 154 Wis. 345, 1913 Wisc. LEXIS 234
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 7, 1913
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 141 N.W. 250 (City of Superior v. Roemer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Superior v. Roemer, 141 N.W. 250, 154 Wis. 345, 1913 Wisc. LEXIS 234 (Wis. 1913).

Opinions

The following opinion was filed April 8, 1913 :

KeewiN, J.

The strip of land occupied by the tracks of the railway companies, defendants, is about 1,300 or 1,400 feet wide, running north and south at the westerly side of the business portion of the appellant city, which strip crosses Belknap street', one of the principal thoroughfares of the appellant city. The Great Northern Railway Company, formerly the Eastern Railway Company of Minnesota,.owns the westerly 600 feet of this strip; the Northern Pacific Railway Company owns 600 feet to the east' of and adjoining the strip owned by the Great Northern Railway Company; the Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Railway Company and the Lake Su[350]*350perior Terminal & Transfer Railway Company own tbe balance of tbe strip at tbe easterly side.

In December, 1894, the Great Northern Railway Company attempted to enter into an agreement with the appellant for the erection of viaducts on Belknap and other streets, running east and west across defendants’ tracks and right of way, and the appellant by ordinance provided that the city, appellant, would build the approaches at the ends of such viaducts, the approach at the east being upon the strip of land occupied by the tracks of the Northern Pacific Railway Company, and under the terms of the alleged ordinance the appellant city was to have the use fqr the approaches of the lands in the street's upon which such approaches were built until the Northern Pacific Railway Company might want to use the same.

Tbe ordinance, among other things, provided as obligations upon tbe city that tbe city would not at' certain points lay out or open any street or highway at grade, and that no grade crossings should-be thereafter established across tbe grounds and right' of way of said railway' company, except at certain points; that when tbe safety of tbe public or passengers or employees of tbe railway company or tbe interests of said railway should require it, tbe city would construct bridges at each of said points named, witb tbe abutments and approaches thereto, and that each of said bridges should have an elevation above tbe rails of tbe tracks of the railway at tbe grade existing when tbe bridges were constructed so as to give at least -twenty-two feet clear between tbe fop of tbe rails and tbe lowest member of tbe bridges from tbe rails; that should tbe city open or extend streets within certain limits across tbe grounds or right of way of tbe railway company; except at points named, the crossing of said grounds should be an under crossing or bridge, and tbe city agreed that it would ¡at its own cost construct and maintain necessary approaches, abutments, retaining walls, and [351]*351approaches with supports. It was further provided by said ordinance that the city would change the grade of streets, or establish grades so as to make it legal for the railway company to construct bridges at an elevation as provided in the ordinance, and assume all liability for damages to all parties other than the railway company occasioned by or growing out of the change of grade, establishing of grades, or construction of bridges with abutments and approaches, and save the company harmless/ that should the appellant city at some future time decide that it was necessary to construct signals or gates or to place watchmen at any points where street's have been or are laid out or opened across the grounds and right of way of said railway company south of Twenty-eighth street, the city would at its own cost' construct, maintain, and operate such signals or gates and pay for the services of watchmen, and save the railway company harmless; that the provisions of said ordinance shall constitute a contract between the city and said railway company:

. After the passage of the ordinance for the construction of the Great Northern viaduct and on August 9, 1895, the city council of appellant passed an ordinance which in terms recited the adoption of the ordinance for the construction of the Great Northern viaduct, and among other things authorized the Northern Pacific Railway Company, at its election after three years, to construct a bridge or viaduct across its tracks connecting with the viaduct over the tracks of the Great Northern Railway Company so as to extend the Great Northern viaduct over the tracks and property of the Northern Pacific Railway Company’s right of way, under which ordinance the appellant was authorized without charge • to build the approach to the Great Northern viaduct 'on the right of way of the Northern Pacific. Railway Company in Belknap street. The ordinance further provided that the appellant agreed to remove such approach at its own expense when the Northern Pacific Railway Company should elect to [352]*352build a viaduct over its own property, and such company was to give the appellant .sixty days’ notice of its election, and the appellant under this ordinance agreed that it would at its own expense construct the necessary abutments for the approach to the viaduct and forever maintain and repair such viaduct and assume all liability for damages to all parties other than the railway company occasioned by the construction of the viaduct and approaches, and to change the grade of the street so as to make it legal for said railway company to construct a bridge at an elevation as provided in the ordinance. The Northern Pacific Railway Company by the terms of this ordinance agreed that the appellant city might use, for the purpose of locating and constructing an approach to the easterly end of the viaduct then being constructed as required by the ordinance of December, 1894-, for the term of three years and until required by said Northern Pacific Railway Company to remove the same, part' of the right of way of said railway company in Belknap street, provided such approach; should not extend more than 300 feet from the east end of said viaduct in Belknap street, and provided further that such approach should not interfere in any manner with the use of the tracks .of said railway company then crossing Belknap street," the Northern Pacific Railway Company to give the city sixty days’ notice to remove. This ordinance was in form accepted by the Northern Pacific Railway Company.

In October, 1901, the Northern Pacific Railway Company served notice upon the appellant of its election to construct a viaduct on Belknap street under the terms of the ordinance.

On November 5, 1907, the appellant passed a resolution requiring all railway companies operating railroads across Belknap street to construct and maintain at' their own expense a viaduct across their tracks on said street, together with the necessary approaches. Afterwards and in Decern-[353]*353ber, 1908, notice was given to tbe railroad companies of the passage of this resolution.

On June 26, 1910, the appellant commenced proceedings by petition to the Railroad Commission of Wisconsin praying for an order directing the Northern Pacific Railway Company, the Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Railway Company, and the Lahe Superior Terminal & Transfer Railway Compawy to construct and maintain at their own expense a viaduct over their several tracks where the same cross Bel-knap street' so as to connect with and constitute a continuance of the Great Northern Bailway viaduct, with the necessary approaches thereto, and to determine and apportion the cost to be paid by each of said railway companies.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
141 N.W. 250, 154 Wis. 345, 1913 Wisc. LEXIS 234, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-superior-v-roemer-wis-1913.