Charlie Fineran’s Photo of the Week is one from his archives showcasing the Delaware River Viaduct withstanding flood waters from Hurricane Ivan. 

This massive viaduct was built as part of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western RR’s Lackawanna Cut-Off, a project that replaced an older route with a straighter and flatter route through the mountains of Northwestern NJ.  This location is about two miles south of the Delaware Water Gap.  Construction began in 1908 and was completed in 1910.  The bridge is 1,452 feet (443 m) long and 65 feet (20 m) high from water level to the top of the rail, and is composed of five 150-foot (46 m) spans and two 120-foot (37 m) spans. The footings were excavated down to bedrock, which ranges from 26 feet (7.9 m) to 53 feet (16 m) below the surface.^[1] A total of 51,376 cubic feet (1,454.8 m³) of concrete and 627 tons of reinforcing steel were used to construct this bridge. This viaduct was completed in Dec. 1910, a year earlier than the official opening of the Lackawanna Cut-Off, thus allowing construction trains to bring in supplies for projects east of this location.  At the time, this was the largest continuous pouring concrete project in the world!

This site offered the visitor many wonderful and unique views of the Delaware Water Gap, activities on the river along with witnessing the River itself, in its many different stages, ranging from raging flood waters to a gentle flow during dry spells!  NOTE:  For the last several years access to the bridge has been denied.  The area is posted and people have received complaint summonses for trespassing.

Please visit my Flickr site for more photos – https://www.flickr.com/photos/charliefineran/albums/72157696926019894

FYI – There is a larger sister viaduct located several miles east in Hainesburg, which is almost twice as tall and not quite as long!  That is known as the Hainesburg or Paulinskill Viaduct, BUT, we will save that for another Inside Warren photo of the Week visit!!

If you Google Delaware River Viaduct, there are many articles about this site and the Lackawanna Cutoff.  There are even some clips showing trains crossing over the viaduct!

Enjoy Your Open Space, Charlie Fineran