117.702—Arthur Kill.
(a)
The draw of the Arthur Kill (AK) Railroad Bridge shall be maintained in the full open position for navigation at all times, except during periods when it is closed for the passage of rail traffic.
(b)
The bridge owner/operator shall maintain a dedicated telephone hot line for vessel operators to call the bridge in advance to coordinate anticipated bridge closures. The telephone hot line number shall be posted on signs at the bridge clearly visible from both the up and downstream sides of the bridge.
(c)
Tide restrained deep draft vessels shall notify the bridge operator, daily, of their expected times of vessel transits through the bridge, by calling the designated telephone hot line.
(d)
The bridge shall not be closed for the passage of rail traffic during any predicted high tide period if a tide restrained deep draft vessel has provided the bridge operator with an advance notice of their intent to transit through the bridge. For the purposes of this regulation, the predicted high tide period shall be considered to be from two-hours before each predicted high tide to a half-hour after each predicted high tide taken at the Battery, New York.
(e)
The bridge operator shall issue a manual broadcast notice to mariners of the intent to close the bridge for a period of up to thirty minutes for the passage of rail traffic, on VHF-FM channels 13 and 16 (minimum range of 15 miles) at 90-minutes before and again at 75-minutes before each bridge closure.
(f)
Beginning at 60 minutes prior to each bridge closure, automated or manual broadcast notice to mariners must be repeated at 15 minute intervals and again at 10 and 5 minutes prior to each bridge closure and once again as the bridge begins to close and appropriate sound signal given.
(g)
Two fifteen minute bridge closures may be provided each day for the passage of multiple rail traffic movements across the bridge. Each fifteen minute bridge closure shall be separated by at least a thirty minute period when the bridge is returned to and remains in the full open position. Notification of the two fifteen minute closures shall follow the same procedures outlined in paragraphs e and f above.
(h)
A vessel operator may request up to a 30 minute delay for any bridge closure in order to allow vessel traffic to meet tide or current requirements; however, the request to delay the bridge closure must be made within 30 minutes following the initial broadcast for the bridge closure. Requests received after the initial 30 minute broadcast will not be granted.
(i)
In the event of a bridge operational failure, the bridge operator shall immediately notify the Coast Guard Captain of the Port New York. The bridge owner/operator must provide and dispatch a bridge repair crew to be on scene at the bridge no later than 45 minutes after the bridge fails to operate. A repair crew must remain at the bridge at all times until the bridge has been fully restored to normal operations or the bridge must be raised and locked in the fully open position.