Erie Railway, Delaware Division, Bridge 189.46, Spanning Starucca Creek, East of Susquehanna River, Lanesboro, Susquehanna County, PA

Significance: The Starrucca Viaduct was built by the Erie Railway in 1848, under the supervision of the engineers J.P. Kirkwood and J.W. Adams, and has been recognized, from the time of its construction, as one of the most daring feats of stone vault engineering ever attempted in this country. Within a generation of its completion, this type of civil engineering was rendered obsolete by the introduction of the Bessemer Converter into the ironmaking industry. Thereafter designers began to consider the use of steel cables and I beams for large scale bridge erection. The Starrucca Viaduct was among the last of classic stone arch bridges to be built, and is found today - standing as originally conceived - at the site.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N1389
Survey number: HAER PA-6
Building/structure dates: 1847-1848 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1886 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1961 Subsequent Work
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 75001665