The Paulinskill Viaduct, also known as the Hainesburg Viaduct, is a reinforced concrete railroad bridge that crosses the Paulins Kill in Knowlton Township, New Jersey. 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 . Incorporated in ...

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 The Delaware River Viaduct is a reinforced concrete railroad bridge across the Delaware River about south of the Delaware Water Gap that was built from 1908 to 1910 as part of the Lackawanna Cut-Off rail line. It is the sister to the line's ...

, carries the Lackawanna Cut-Off over the river,

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, 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 Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

1911, the Paulinskill Viaduct, supported by its seven graceful arches, carried DL&W trains until 1960, when the railroad merged with the Erie Railroad to form the Erie Lackawanna Railroad. 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 busin ...

, which ran trains until 1979, abandoned the line in 1982, and removed the tracks in 1984. New Jersey Transit is working to

restore Restore may refer to: * ReStore - Retail building supply stores run by local Habitat for Humanity affiliates *"Restore", a single by Chris August Christopher August Megert (born March 20, 1982) is an American Contemporary Christian musician who ...

commuter service along the Cut-Off, with the section from

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

, to Andover, New Jersey, currently under construction and slated to open in 2025. NJT has proposed to restore the rest of the Cut-Off, including the Paulinskill Viaduct, and restore passenger service into northeastern Pennsylvania, possibly as far as Scranton. The Paulinskill Viaduct is also known for its internal chambers (used to inspect the structural integrity of the bridge), which are popular among those who enjoy urban exploration. The graffiti-filled chambers have been featured on Weird NJ.

Notes

References

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External links

The Wonders of Paulinskill Viaduct
at weirdnj.com * *{{Structurae , id=20051042 , title=Paulinskill Viaduct 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