Letchworth State Park's iconic trestle bridge over Genesee River is being torn down

It’s time to say goodbye to the iconic trestle bridge over the Genesee River gorge in Letchworth State Park.

Work crews have been tearing down the bridge, piece by piece, since early December, when a new $75 million steel arch railroad bridge went into service carrying the Norfolk Southern Railway Southern Tier Line over the river from Portage, Genesee County, to Genesee Falls, Wyoming County.

In recent days, ironworkers have removed a massive truss from the old bridge and in coming weeks, they will toil to take down the rest.

“I’m not excited about the fact that the old bridge has to come down,” said Lorraine Rocker, historian for the town of Portage, Livingston County. “But, we all know if the railroad is going to keep running, it needed to be replaced.”

Indeed.

The old Portage Viaduct (also known as the Portage Bridge, Portageville Viaduct or Portageville Bridge) was hastily built back in 1875 to replace an 800-foot-long wooden span that burned down that same year. According to Tom Cook and Tom Breslin on letchworthparkhistory.com, while the wooden bridge succumbed to fire on May 6, 1875, the new iron bridge was ready for testing on July 31 — just 53 days after the fire.

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At 142 years old, the iron Portage Viaduct could no longer carry freight loads at the current rail industry standard, and trains could not run over it at standard speeds. Restrictions on the line kept freight trains crossing the bridge at no more than 10 mph and weight limits were 13,000 pounds below the 286,000 pound standard. The bridge was named in 2009 as one of the most significant rail bottlenecks in the state.

Despite public efforts to save the bridge for use as a pedestrian walkway — estimates were that it would cost at least $2 million to rehabilitate — the ultimate decision was made to tear it down. A 2014 bill proposed by state Sen. Patrick Gallivan, R-Elma, Erie County, that would have had the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation take ownership of the span and convert it to a pedestrian bridge never made it out of committee.

According to the bill, "The Portageville bridge is a historic state and national treasure. ... Preservation of the Portageville pedestrian bridge will contribute substantially to the quality of lives of the citizens of New York, as it will provide a natural, ecological, historic, cultural and recreational resource."

Letchworth State Park was given top honors in the 2015 USA TODAY 10Best Readers' Choice award for Best State Park.

Rocker said she would have preferred to see the bridge remain standing.

"Nobody wanted to take financial responsibility for that," she said. “Historians always like to preserve and reuse or remodel. We always want to keep things renovated and restored, but if you can’t renovate it you have to let it go, and I think that’s where that bridge was at.”

Construction on the new 900-foot-long, single-track bridge began in October 2015. The structure comprises a parallel alignment of a 483-foot two-hinged spandrel-braced arch flanked on each side by three 80-foot approach spans for a total length of 963 feet. The project also included adding 1,200 feet of new track on either side of the gorge to align existing tracks with the new bridge.

According to engineers with bridge designers Modjeski and Masters Inc., while spandrel-braced arches are well-suited for railroad loading, there have been few instances where site conditions would permit such a bridge to be built, "making the new Portageville Bridge unique in modern history."

According to Norfolk Southern Corp., there are 10 short line railroads that service and connect local industries to the railroad company's network. And, Norfolk Southern transports freight over the Southern Tier Line to more than 1,100 customers in 20 states. The line, of which the new arch bridge is a part, is a gateway for trade to Canada and provides a connection to New York City and New England markets.

The new span "complements the beauty of Letchworth State Park while providing safer, more efficient freight rail services," said Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in a December 2016 statement announcing the opening of the new bridge. "Through a combined effort with Norfolk Southern, government leaders and the public, we have built a modern arch bridge which will support economic growth in the region and continued our drive to strengthen and modernize transportation infrastructure across the state for generations to come."

Design and construction of the bridge included $2 million in grants from the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council, $13.5 million in state and federal funds allocated via the state Department of Transportation and $59.5 million from Norfolk Southern.

"This is a very exciting day for Norfolk Southern and for the future of freight rail service in New York’s Southern Tier region,” said James A. Squires, chairman, president and CEO of Norfolk Southern Corp. on Dec. 11. “The successful completion of this bridge is an excellent demonstration of how the public and private sectors can work together on freight transportation projects that generate significant public benefits and are vital to U.S. commerce. It’s also a testament to Norfolk Southern’s robust bridge program and the ingenuity of engineers and railroaders.”

MCDERMOT@Gannett.com

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