Paulinskill Viaduct

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

Paulinskill Viaduct
File:Pualins Kill Viaduct in Haineburg, NJ.jpg A section of the Paulinskill Viaduct
Coordinates	40°56′53″N 75°03′41″W
Crosses	Paulins Kill
Locale	Hainesburg, New Jersey
Maintained by	New Jersey Department of Transportation
Characteristics
Design	reinforced concrete arch
Total length	1,100 feet (340 m)
Clearance below	115 feet (35 m)
History
Opened	December 24, 1911
Closed	Still extant (railroad tracks removed in 1984)
Standort

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. The designers were the engineering staff of the railroad, under the supervision of Lincoln Bush, the chief engineer.

It was surpassed in size by another Lackawanna Railroad bridge, the Tunkhannock Viaduct, in 1915.

The railroad tracks were removed from the Lackawanna Cut-Off in 1984. New Jersey Transit is in the process of restoring Scranton/Hoboken commuter service along the Cut-Off, with the 7.3-mile (11.7 km) section from Lake Hopatcong, NJ, to Andover, NJ, currently under construction.

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

The inspection crawlway inside the Paulins Kill Viaduct, which travels over the individual arches of the bridge.

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 those who enjoy urban exploration.

External links

• The Wonders of Paulinskill Viaduct at weirdnj.com
• Paulinskill Viaduct at Structurae. Retrieved 2012-02-17.