Insight into
The Tunkhannock Viaduct
M
ore commonly known as the Nicholson Bridge, the Tunkhannock Viaduct is the world’s largest reinforced concrete railroad bridge. It spans 2,375 feet across and 34 feet wide over the Tunkhannock Creek. It required 500 men to build, using cuttingedge technology of the day, including steam shovels, a cement mixer, and dynamite. Work began on the bridge in 1912 by the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western
(DL&W) railroad and was completed in 1915. Abraham Burton Cohen was the project engineer and
incentive was to shorten the rail line from Scranton, PA to Binghamton, New York and make the journey less treacherous. Trains on this line carried passengers, agricultural products, iron, steel, and of course, coal. The Nicholson Bridge is registered as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark and on April 11, 1977, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
George G. Ray was the chief engineer. The bridge was part of a more extensive project, called the Clarks-Summit Hallstead Cutoff. The
Happenings probed some of the locals for more insight.