The Paulinskill Viaduct, also known as the Hainesburg Viaduct, is a reinforced concrete railroad

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

that crosses the

Paulins Kill The Paulins Kill (also known as Paulinskill River) is a tributary of the Delaware River in northwestern New Jersey in the United States. With a long-term median flow rate of 76 cubic feet of water per second (2.15 m3/s), it is New Jers ...

in Knowlton Township,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. When completed in 1910, it was the largest reinforced concrete structure in the world.

History

The viaduct was built by the

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad, was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey, and by ferry with New York City, a distance of . The railroad was ...

as part of the Lackawanna Cut-Off, a project that replaced an older route with a straighter and flatter route through the mountains of northwestern New Jersey. (A sister bridge of similar design but smaller dimension, the Delaware River Viaduct, carries the Lackawanna Cut-Off over the river,

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...

, and the New Jersey-Pennsylvania state line.) Designed by the DL&W's engineering staff under the supervision of chief engineer

Lincoln Bush Lincoln Bush (1860–1940) was an American civil engineer and inventor, known for his work with railroads. Abraham Lincoln Bush was born on December 14, 1860, in Palos Township, Illinois, the son of Lewis Bush and Mary Ritchey Bush. He was named f ...

and built by the Philadelphia contracting firm of Reiter, Curtis & Hill, the bridge was considered a pioneering work that opened the door to the building of even larger concrete viaducts by the Lackawanna, most notably the Tunkhannock Viaduct in Pennsylvania in 1915. Opened to regular rail traffic on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

1911, the Paulinskill Viaduct, supported by its seven graceful arches, carried DL&W trains until 1960, when the railroad merged with the

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Northeastern United States, originally connecting Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey, with Lake Erie at Dunkirk, New York. The railroad expanded west to Chicago following its 1865 ...

to form the

Erie Lackawanna Railroad The Erie Lackawanna Railway , known as the Erie Lackawanna Railroad until 1968, was formed from the 1960 merger of the Erie Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. The official motto of the line was "The Friendly Service Route ...

. The E-L in turn operated the Cut-Off until 1976 when the railroad was conveyed into

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busine ...

, which ran trains until November 1978, abandoned the line in November 1981, and removed the tracks in 1984.

NJ Transit Rail Operations NJ Transit Rail Operations is the rail division of NJ Transit. It operates commuter rail service in New Jersey, with most service centered on transportation to and from New York City, Hoboken, and Newark. NJ Transit also operates rail service ...

is working to restore commuter service along the Cut-Off, with the section from

Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey Lake Hopatcong is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Township, Morris County, New Jersey, United States. It includes communities on the northeast side of Lake Hopatcong, the largest freshwater body in the state. As of the 2020 United ...

, to

Andover, New Jersey Andover is a borough in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 595, a decrease of 11 (−1.8%) from the 2010 census count of 606, which in turn reflected a decline of ...

, which is slated to open in 2027.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

has proposed to restore the rest of the Cut-Off west of Andover, including the Paulinskill Viaduct, and resume passenger service into northeastern Pennsylvania and onto

Scranton Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

. The Paulinskill Viaduct is known for the internal chambers used to inspect the structural integrity of the bridge, which are popular among urban explorers. The

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

-filled chambers have been featured by

Weird NJ ''Weird NJ'' (sometimes abbreviated ''WNJ'') is a semi-annual magazine that chronicles local legends, purported hauntings, ghost stories, folklore, unusual places or events, and other peculiarities in New Jersey. The magazine originated in 1989 ...

Notes

References

* *

External links

The Wonders of Paulinskill Viaduct
at weirdnj.com * *{{Structurae , id=20051042 , title=Paulinskill Viaduct
"History of the Delaware River Viaduct"
-Green Station Museum Bridges completed in 1910 Railroad bridges in New Jersey Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad bridges Bridges in Warren County, New Jersey Deck arch bridges in the United States Viaducts in the United States Lackawanna Cut-Off Former railway bridges in the United States Concrete bridges in the United States Bridges over the Paulins Kill