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

Bridge

A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...

 which crosses the Paulins Kill

Paulins Kill

The Paulins Kill is a tributary of the Delaware River in northwestern New Jersey in the United States...

 in Knowlton Township

Knowlton Township, New Jersey

- Local government :The Knowlton Township Committee consists of Mayor Frank Van Horn , Deputy Mayor Ronald Farber , Theresa Capriccio , René Mathez and Scott Odorizzi ....

, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

.

Built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad

The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company was a railroad connecting Pennsylvania's Lackawanna Valley, rich in anthracite coal, to Hoboken, New Jersey, , Buffalo and Oswego, New York...

 and completed in 1910, it was the largest reinforced concrete structure in the world and served the Lackawanna Cutoff

New Jersey Cut-Off

The Lackawanna Cut-Off is a former double-track railroad line, long, built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad between 1908 and 1911. The last major railroad mainline to be constructed in New Jersey, the Cut-Off operated between 1911 and 1979...

, which was opened on Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...

, 1911. It was surpassed in size by another Lackawanna Railroad bridge, the Tunkhannock Viaduct

Tunkhannock Viaduct

Tunkhannock Viaduct is a concrete deck arch bridge that spans the Tunkhannock Creek in Nicholson, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It was the largest concrete bridge in the U.S. when it opened, and remained so even 50 years later.The bridge contains about of concrete and of steel...

, in 1915.

The railroad tracks were removed from the Lackawanna Cut-Off in 1984. New Jersey Transit

New Jersey Transit

The New Jersey Transit Corporation is a statewide public transportation system serving the United States state of New Jersey, and New York, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York State...

 is in the process of restoring Scranton

Scranton, Pennsylvania

Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...

/Hoboken

Hoboken, New Jersey

Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...

 commuter service along the Cut-Off, with the 7.3 mile (11.8 km) section from Lake Hopatcong, NJ

Lake Hopatcong

Lake Hopatcong is the largest freshwater body in the state of New Jersey, USA, approximately 4 square miles in area. The lake is located in the mountains of northern New Jersey, north of Netcong and along the border between Sussex and Morris counties.The lake is within the borders of four...

 to Andover, NJ currently under construction.

The Delaware River Viaduct

Delaware River Viaduct

The Delaware River Viaduct is the sister bridge of the Paulinskill Viaduct on the Lackawanna Cut-Off rail line between eastern Pennsylvania and northwestern New Jersey. Built in 1908-10, this reinforced concrete bridge crosses the Delaware River about two miles south of the Delaware Water Gap...

, a sister bridge of similar design but smaller dimension (further west on the Lackawanna Cut-Off), crosses over Interstate 80

Interstate 80

Interstate 80 is the second-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, following Interstate 90. It is a transcontinental artery running from downtown San Francisco, California to Teaneck, New Jersey in the New York City Metropolitan Area...

 on the New Jersey side of the river just south of the Delaware Water Gap

Delaware Water Gap

The Delaware Water Gap is on the border of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains...

 at the New Jersey/Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 border. 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

Urban exploration

Urban exploration is the examination of the normally unseen or off-limits parts of urban areas or industrial facilities. Urban exploration is also commonly referred to as infiltration, although some people consider infiltration to be more closely associated with the exploration of active or...

.

External links

• The Wonders of Paulinskill Viaduct at weirdnj.com