Paulinskill Viaduct

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Paulinskill Viaduct
A section of the Paulinskill Viaduct
Crosses	Paulins Kill
Locale	Hainesburg, New Jersey
Maintained by	New Jersey Department of Transportation
Design	reinforced concrete arch
Total length	1,100 feet (335 m)
Clearance below	115 feet (35 m)
Opening date	December 24, 1911
Destruction date	Still extant, although tracks were removed in 1984.

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

As of 2006, it is still in existence, although the tracks were removed back in 1984. Built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad and completed in 1910, it was the largest reinforced concrete structure in the world and served the Lackawanna Cutoff, which was opened on Christmas Eve, 1911. It was surpassed in size by another Lackawanna Railroad bridge, the Tunkhannock Viaduct, in 1915. Amongst non-railfans, the Paulinskill Viaduct is known for its internal chambers (used to inspect the structural integrity of the bridge), which are popular among adventure-minded people. Within the past few years, the State of New Jersey has installed fencing and "No Trespassing" signs around the viaduct. New Jersey Transit is in the planning stages for restoration of Scranton/Hoboken commuter service along the Cut-Off.

The Delaware River Viaduct, a sister bridge of similar design but smaller dimension (further west on the Lackawanna Cut-Off) can be observed crossing over Interstate 80 on the New Jersey side of the river just south of the Delaware Water Gap at the New Jersey/Pennsylvania border.