New Jersey Roads - Musconetcong River Bridges - Changewater Rd./Trestle

Musconetcong River Bridges:
Changewater Road, Changewater Trestle



So the bridge was razed, what's there to see here? Depends how much you like ENGINEERING MEGALITHS. Oh, okay then. This bridge stood in service for nearly a century, though not active at the very end, with the track coming online in 1862 and disappearing in 1960. The trestle was built by the Warren Railroad Company to connect the Central Railroad to the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western.


No slouch itself, the Changewater Rd. bridge that carries CR 645 was built in 1900. This is the all original west side of the bridge.


The east side of the bridge has a (former) pedestrian walkway with this old decorative fence. So how do I know the fence isn't original?


When something juts out from the side of a bridge like this... not original. Still old, mind you. This is why I started with the west side. That and it didn't tell me it was dangerous.


More roadway bridge views looking north toward Warren's Washington Twp., then some views east along the Musconetcong. If you can't tell, I visited in two different seasons.


Here's the view west along the river and THERE'S THE MEGALITH. So this would be one of the piers supporting the trestle high above the Musconetcong River Valley as it crossed from north to south. Part of one, anyway. Let's look some more.


Let's start in the north. This looks north at the northern abutment, with what looks like two closely spaced stone piers in the descending hillside before the main trestle span gets going.


This is the next pier south, which you can see sits near a small 1932 brook or culvert crossing along CR 645. For reference, the road is heading northwest in this west-facing photo, while the rail line is nearly due north-south.


The third pier from the north is the one I teased you with, right along the riverbank. The first photo looks south and the others look north along the alignment of the railroad. You can see that the tracks sat on the west side of the pier, and this isn't just a result of erosion. East is upstream, so erosion was being considered.


As I walk south across the bridge, the south abutment comes into view, along with its closely spaced first pier. Need info? Find it on the south shore along CR 645. (So, Warren CR 645 is Changewater Rd. from the bridge north. Hunterdon CR 645 follows the river on Musconetcong River Rd. Fortunately, neither county recognizes the others' routes' existence, so no sign confusion to be had, or any county route signs at all.)

See more Musconetcong River bridges

Into Hunterdon County
Into Warren County
Back to New Jersey Roads
Back to Roads