Air Line Rail Road Veteran's Memorial Greenway Photos

The Rapallo Viaduct in East Hampton bridges the Flat Brook, and is 1,380 feet long and over 60 feet high from the valley floor. The original bridge was built in 1873 of wrought iron. This viaduct, along with its nearby sister the Lyman Viaduct, are two of the oldest surviving wrought iron viaducts in the United States and were pioneering engineering feats of the 19th century. Starting in 1912, engineers and construction workers began the gargantuan task of filling in the Lyman and Rapallo Viaducts. The alternative had been to strengthen and replace the bridges built in the 1870s, and this proved costly to the cash strapped railroad company. Instead, culverts were placed beneath the bridges to carry the river's waters, and then hopper car after hopper car full of fine sand were pulled on to the structures and their contents dumped (click on this link for photos of the creation of the Lyman Viaduct). Over 20 months, two massive ridges of sand were built up from the floor of the valleys until the iron bridges disappeared under the fill. When the iron work was covered, another foot of cinders was laid and compacted on to the surface of the fill to hold it in place. New tracks were then placed over the final layer.

Even though the wrought iron bridges are gone from view, they have earned a place on the National Registry of Historic Places because they are the only surviving, virtually untouched examples of 19th century iron viaduct construction. The Viaducts also provide breathtaking views and are one of the hallmarks of the Air Line Rail Trail.

In the last years of the 20th century, the brick, stone, and concrete work culvert began to collapse under the Rapallo Viaduct. What first started as a small steam of sand turned into a torrent, both causing a significant fouling with sediment of the Flat Brook south of the viaduct and generating a huge crater in the north face of the viaduct almost 30 feet in diameter. "The holes act like an hourglass and the sand moves down the holes and into Flat Brook," said Eric Ott, a supervising engineer with the DEP. "It was sending a huge amount of material downstream. It was much smaller 10 years ago. It's gotten a lot worse. We needed to expedite getting this fixed. If it continued to grow, a sewer line that runs underneath would have been threatened." The state has given the DEP $500,000 to fix the sinkhole that threatens to uncover a 16-inch sewage pipe buried underneath the Viaduct. The pipe carries raw sewage from Colchester and Hebron to a water treatment plant in East Hampton. If the pipe were to rupture, it would send 1,200 gallons of sewage per minute the Flat Brook and, ultimately, into the Salmon River.

On October 17, 2007, the Connecticut DEP announced that the Air Line Trail would be closed during the week Monday through Friday from October 22, 2007 to January 1, 2008 so that repairs could be made to the Rapallo Viaduct. The culvert beneath the massive structure would be reconstructed by inserting a corrugated metal pipe arch to sleeve the existing stone work, building a new concrete floor in the culvert, and filling and stabilizing the crater. The work is being done by New England Infrastructure, Inc.

This is a hardhat area, and dangerous for both the construction professionals doing the work as well as onlookers. I took these photos with their permission and the promise I would not climb down to the valley floor.

Looking eastward from the center of the Rapallo Viaduct in the fall of 2004, before the sinkhole on the left side was significant (10/2004)

The construction crew uses this ramp to climb down to the outflow of the Flat Book through the culvert. This helps prevent more erosion of the sides of the embankment. (11/2007)

The rocky area in the foreground is where the sinkhole has been filled. You can see to the left the top layer of coal cinders used originally to cover the fine fill sand in 1913. The construction crew is using a pump and long hose to pump the Flat Brook through the culvert while they do their work. (11/2007)

It seems very unusual to see motorized vehicles on the rail trail. Each day, the construction workers drive the 1.5 miles from the trail head in East Hampton to the construction site. There has been little to no damage to the trail surface by the equipment. (11/2007)


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Repairs to the Rapallo Viaduct - Fall, 2007 The Rapallo Viaduct in East Hampton bridges the Flat Brook, and is 1,380 feet long and over 60 feet high from the valley floor. The original bridge was built in 1873 of wrought iron. This viaduct, along with its nearby sister the Lyman Viaduct, are two of the oldest surviving wrought iron viaducts in the United States and were pioneering engineering feats of the 19th century. Starting in 1912, engineers and construction workers began the gargantuan task of filling in the Lyman and Rapallo Viaducts. The alternative had been to strengthen and replace the bridges built in the 1870s, and this proved costly to the cash strapped railroad company. Instead, culverts were placed beneath the bridges to carry the river's waters, and then hopper car after hopper car full of fine sand were pulled on to the structures and their contents dumped (click on this link for photos of the creation of the Lyman Viaduct). Over 20 months, two massive ridges of sand were built up from the floor of the valleys until the iron bridges disappeared under the fill. When the iron work was covered, another foot of cinders was laid and compacted on to the surface of the fill to hold it in place. New tracks were then placed over the final layer. Even though the wrought iron bridges are gone from view, they have earned a place on the National Registry of Historic Places because they are the only surviving, virtually untouched examples of 19th century iron viaduct construction. The Viaducts also provide breathtaking views and are one of the hallmarks of the Air Line Rail Trail. In the last years of the 20th century, the brick, stone, and concrete work culvert began to collapse under the Rapallo Viaduct. What first started as a small steam of sand turned into a torrent, both causing a significant fouling with sediment of the Flat Brook south of the viaduct and generating a huge crater in the north face of the viaduct almost 30 feet in diameter. "The holes act like an hourglass and the sand moves down the holes and into Flat Brook," said Eric Ott, a supervising engineer with the DEP. "It was sending a huge amount of material downstream. It was much smaller 10 years ago. It's gotten a lot worse. We needed to expedite getting this fixed. If it continued to grow, a sewer line that runs underneath would have been threatened." The state has given the DEP $500,000 to fix the sinkhole that threatens to uncover a 16-inch sewage pipe buried underneath the Viaduct. The pipe carries raw sewage from Colchester and Hebron to a water treatment plant in East Hampton. If the pipe were to rupture, it would send 1,200 gallons of sewage per minute the Flat Brook and, ultimately, into the Salmon River. On October 17, 2007, the Connecticut DEP announced that the Air Line Trail would be closed during the week Monday through Friday from October 22, 2007 to January 1, 2008 so that repairs could be made to the Rapallo Viaduct. The culvert beneath the massive structure would be reconstructed by inserting a corrugated metal pipe arch to sleeve the existing stone work, building a new concrete floor in the culvert, and filling and stabilizing the crater. The work is being done by New England Infrastructure, Inc. This is a hardhat area, and dangerous for both the construction professionals doing the work as well as onlookers. I took these photos with their permission and the promise I would not climb down to the valley floor. The original wrought iron Rapallo Viaduct bridge, circa 1900. Looking eastward from the center of the Rapallo Viaduct in the fall of 2004, before the sinkhole on the left side was significant (10/2004) The view from the center of the Rapallo Viaduct looking west. (10/2004) Approaching the work from the east side of the viaduct. (11/2007) The construction crew uses this ramp to climb down to the outflow of the Flat Book through the culvert. This helps prevent more erosion of the sides of the embankment. (11/2007) The rocky area in the foreground is where the sinkhole has been filled. You can see to the left the top layer of coal cinders used originally to cover the fine fill sand in 1913. The construction crew is using a pump and long hose to pump the Flat Brook through the culvert while they do their work. (11/2007) It seems very unusual to see motorized vehicles on the rail trail. Each day, the construction workers drive the 1.5 miles from the trail head in East Hampton to the construction site. There has been little to no damage to the trail surface by the equipment. (11/2007) You've been warned!
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