It’s Finally Happening…The ‘Famous’ Letchworth Trestle Bridge Is Being Ripped Down

If you've ever been to Letchworth, then you know the iconic trestle bridge over the Genesee River gorge.

The problem is that the railroad needs to keep running and the bridge now is not up to par, so little by little, the bridge will be taken down. The new railroad line went into place when the arch railroad bridge was built over the river from Portage, Genesee County to Genesee Falls, Wyoming County.

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", according to WGRZ.