The viaduct was built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad as part of the Lackawanna Cut-Off, a project that replaced an older route with a straighter and flatter route through the mountains of northwestern New Jersey.

Designed by the DL&W's engineering staff under the supervision of chief engineer Lincoln Bush[2] and built by the Philadelphia contracting firm of Reiter, Curtis & Hill, the bridge was considered a pioneering work that opened the door to the building of even larger concrete viaducts by the Lackawanna, most notably the Tunkhannock Viaduct in Pennsylvania in 1915.

NJ Transit Rail Operations is working to restore commuter service along the Cut-Off, with the 7.3-mile (11.7 km) section from Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey, to Andover, New Jersey, which is slated to open in 2027.

[4] Amtrak has proposed to restore the rest of the Cut-Off west of Andover, including the Paulinskill Viaduct, and resume passenger service into northeastern Pennsylvania and onto Scranton.

The Paulinskill Viaduct is known for the internal chambers used to inspect the structural integrity of the bridge, which are popular among urban explorers.