Cutoff is a tribute to engineering marvels

Andover - Those who want the Lackawanna Cutoff used as a rail line once more and those who hope it becomes a hiking and bike trail in perpetuity agree on one thing: it is an engineering marvel. Conceived to cut 11 miles off the rail trip from the Delaware River Bridge between Portland, Pa., and Columbia, N.J., the Cutoff runs 28 miles with a total rise and fall of 11 feet and no grade that exceeds .5 percent. Today, that might not be difficult, but it was built between 1908 and 1911. It was built with no grade crossings, but years after the track was torn up in 1988, one was created at Brooklyn Road in Hopatcong Borough. During construction, 14 million cubic yards of fill was removed to create the cuts and 15 million cubic yards of fill were required to create the embankment. The longest embankment is the Pequest which crosses Route 206 just South of Andover Borough. It is 3 miles long with a maximum height of 119 feet and contains 6,625,000 cubic yards of fill. The best laid plans went awry at the beginning of the 20th Century just as they do now. The Cutoff was originally conceived without any tunnels, but the engineers discovered unusually soft rock just south of Andover and so were forced to create the Roseville Tunnel 132 feet below the surface. It is 1,024 feet long and was designed to accommodate a double track. The tunnel is the part of the Cutoff that will require the most work if trains are to use the line again. There are leaks in the tunnel which is partially lined in concrete. In addition, the walls and ceiling of the tunnel will have to be re-profiled to accommodate clearances for two tracks carrying larger, modern trains and also to maintain Federal Railroad Administration standard safety clearances for workers to be in the tunnel, according to the assessment prepared by NJ Transit and its consultants. Needing very little repair is the jewel of the Cutoff, the Paulinskill Viaduct. Towering above the Paulinskill in Knowlton Township, Warren County, at more than 1,000 feet long, the viaduct was once the largest concrete structure in the world. Because the Cutoff utilized the natural ridges, it avoided population centers and still runs through relatively open land. This meant it generated very little local freight traffic, so once the passenger service was discontinued in 1972, the line saw little use and was abandoned in 1979. The tracks were removed in 1983, but, according to NJ Transit, the stone ballast for a single track is generally intact along the entire length. Reviving the Cutoff will require rehabilitating the existing station in Blairstown and constructing a new one with parking on Roseville Road in Andover Township. Richard Roberts, senior planner for NJ Transit said the governing body of Andover Township was anxious to have the station in their municipality. The former Green Township station will be used for a maintenance siding and another maintenance area will be at the terminus in Port Morris, where the Cutoff joins the Morris and Essex line which runs from Hackettstown to Hoboken.