Editorial Note on Part 117
Editorial Note: Nomenclature changes to part 117 appear by USCG-1998-3799, 63 FR 35529, June 30, 1998.

§ 117.237 Christina River. ( a ) The owners of the bridges on this waterway: ( 1 ) Shall provide and keep in good legible condition two board gages painted white with black figures not less than six inches high to indicate the vertical clearance under the closed draw at all stages of the tide. The gages shall be so placed on the bridges that they are plainly visible to the operator of each vessel approaching the bridge either up or downstream.
( 2 ) Shall open on signal except that the draw of a railroad bridge need not be opened when a train is in the bridge block, approaching the bridge, or within 5 minutes of the passage of a passenger train; but in no event shall the opening of the draw be delayed more than 10 minutes.
( b ) The draw of the Norfolk Southern Railroad Bridge, mile 1.4 at Wilmington, shall operate as follows: ( 1 ) The draw shall remain in the open position for navigation. The draw shall only be closed for train crossings or periodic maintenance authorized in accordance with subpart A of this part.
( 2 ) The bridge shall be operated by the controller at the Harrisburg, PA Dispatcher's Office. The controller shall monitor vessel traffic with closed circuit cameras and infrared sensors covering the swing radius. Operational information will be provided 24 hours a day on marine channel 13 and via telephone 470-463-1102.
( 3 ) The bridge shall not be operated from the remote location in the following events: Failure or obstruction of the infrared sensors, closed-circuit cameras or marine-radio communications, or anytime controller's visibility is inhibited. In these situations, a bridge tender with Norfolk Southern must be called and on-site within 30 minutes.
( 4 ) Before the bridge closes for any reason, the remote operator will monitor waterway traffic in the area. The bridge shall only be closed if the off-site remote operator's visual inspection shows that the channel is clear and there are no vessels transiting in the area. While the bridge is moving, the operator shall maintain constant surveillance of the navigation channel.
( 5 ) Before closing the draw, the channel traffic lights would change from flashing green to flashing red, the horn will sound five short blasts, and an audio voice warning stating, “Attention, Attention. Norfolk Southern Railroad Bridge over Christina River at milepost 1.4 will be closing to river traffic.” Five short blasts of the horn will continue until the bridge is seated and locked down to vessels. The channel traffic lights will continue to flash red.
( 6 ) When the rail traffic has cleared, the horn will sound one prolonged blast followed by one short blast to indicate the draw is opening to vessel traffic. During the opening swing movement, the channel traffic lights would flash red until the bridge returns to the fully open position. In the full open position to vessels, the bridge channel lights will flash green followed by an announcement stating, “Security, security, security. Norfolk Southern Railroad Bridge over Christina River at mile 1.4 is open for river traffic.” Vessels shall stay clear of both channels as to not interfere with infrared detectors, until green lights are displayed on the swing span.
( c ) In Wilmington DE, the draw of the Third Street Bridge at mile 2.3, shall open on signal, the draws of the Walnut Street Bridge at mile 2.8, and the Market Street Bridge at mile 3.0, shall open on signal if at least eight hours notice is given. From 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday except holidays, the draws of these three bridges need not be opened for the passage of vessels. Any vessel which has passed through one or more of these bridges immediately prior to a closed period and which requires passage through the other bridge or bridges in order to continue to its destination shall be passed through the draw or draws of the bridge or bridges without delay.
( d ) The draws of the Norfolk Southern Railroad bridges, at miles 4.1 and 4.2, both at Wilmington, shall open on signal from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. if at least 24 hours notice is given. From 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., the draws need not be opened for the passage of vessels.
( e ) The draw of the SH141 bridge, mile 7.5 at Wilmington, shall open on signal if at least 24 hours notice is given.
[CGD 82-025, 49 FR 17452, Apr. 24, 1984, as amended by CGD3 84-06, 49 FR 33448, Aug. 23, 1984, CGD3 85-42, 50 FR 26712, June 28, 1985; CGD 87-035, 52 FR 33812, Sept. 8, 1987; CGD05-04-168, 70 FR 4016, Jan. 28, 2005; USCG-2012-1085, 78 FR 61182, Oct. 3, 2013; USCG-2022-0323, 88 FR 10029, Feb. 16, 2023]