235 Feet Above the Genesee, the First Railroad Arch Bridge in 70 Years
For 142 years, a 19th-century iron trestle carried rail traffic 235 feet above the Genesee River Gorge in Letchworth State Park. Train crews called it “Old Shaky.” Weight restrictions, 10 mph speed limits, and single-train crossings had turned this stretch of Norfolk Southern’s Southern Tier Route into a bottleneck between Buffalo and Binghamton. The $75 million replacement, the Genesee Arch Bridge, is a 483-foot deck arch span flanked by 240-foot approach spans on each end, constructed on a parallel alignment 75 feet south of the original structure. It’s the first true arch bridge built for the railroad industry since the 1940s.
Our firm served as Construction Project Manager, providing construction inspection services, construction engineering quality assurance reviews, and environmental monitoring for critical bridge construction operations throughout one of the most complex and environmentally sensitive bridge projects in the Northeast.
Cantilevered Over the Grand Canyon of the East
Building an arch bridge into the walls of a 235-foot gorge inside a state park leaves no room for improvisation. Our team collaborated with general contractor American Bridge in reviewing construction submittals for the erection of the main span arch. Each half was cantilevered over the gorge and held in place by an intricate temporary tieback system. Two 4100W Ringer cranes with 300 feet of boom each were positioned on opposite sides of the gorge to erect the first four panels of arch steel. A 120-ton hydraulic crane was then positioned on the partially constructed cantilevered arch itself to erect the remaining three panel points out to the crown. We reviewed and approved as-built arch geometry for each of the 16 stages of construction and the final arch closure sequence, and reviewed the demolition procedure for the original structure, including three separate explosive blasting and felling operations.
The site demanded as much environmental discipline as structural precision. Located in a New York State park, spanning a state and federally protected river, and surrounded by historical and cultural resources and nesting bald eagles, the project required our team to perform environmental compliance inspections and assist with additional permits and modifications throughout construction. The new bridge leaves no physical footprint in the Genesee River, returning it to its natural state for the first time in over 170 years. It earned a National Steel Bridge Alliance Prize Bridge Award in 2020 and stands today as proof that modern freight infrastructure and environmental stewardship can share the same gorge.
