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What is said to be the largest concrete
bridge in the world is the reinforced-concrete
railroad viaduct now under construction across the valley of
Tunkhannock
Creek, 22 miles west of Scranton, Pa. This bridge has a total length of
2,375 ft., an extreme height of 242 ft. above the bed of the stream,
and
300 ft. above the solid-rock foundation, and is being built to carry
two
tracks. It is made up of 12 semicircular arches, ten of which have a
span
of 180 ft., and two, a span of 100 ft. These arches will be surmounted
by small arches on which the solid concrete surface of the viaduct will
be carried. Even the falsework for the bridge is of a massive
character,
consisting of sets of arched steel trusses, spanning the spaces between
piers. These were made in sections in the shops and erected by means of
a double cableway. The viaduct will contain 167,000 cu. yd. of
concrete,
and 2,280,000 lb. of reinforcing steel, while he excavation for the
piers
amounted to about 43,500 cu. yd. All the piers rest on solid rock, two
having foundations 95 ft. below the surface.
January 1915 Article from "Railway Review"
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| Four D.L.& W. R. R. Concrete Viaducts Shown Comparitively. The bottom copy of the sketch is linked to a 450kb version. | This is the only part of the article I have, but it does cover the Tunkhannock Viaduct very well. Two pictures of it's construction. | Elevation and cross-section views of two arches of Tunkhannock Creek Viaduct. |
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 Left: west end Tunkhannock Viaduct. Drawings of Martin's Creek Viaduct. Above: long views of the two. Right: The Tunkhannock |
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Left: Wooden centering used on the Martin's Creek Viaduct that was not used on the Tunkhannock. Construction long view of Martin's Creek. |
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The Great Lackawanna Bridge at Nicholson, Pa. View Books
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Susan Carter White Pieroth 2007