Navigable aqueduct
Encyclopedia
Waterway
A waterway is any navigable body of water. Waterways can include rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, and canals. In order for a waterway to be navigable, it must meet several criteria:...
canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
s over other rivers, valleys, railways or roads. They are primarily distinguished by their size, carrying a larger cross-section of water than most water-supply aqueduct
Aqueduct
An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
s. Although Roman aqueducts were sometimes used for transport, aqueducts were not generally used until the 17th century when the problems of summit level canal
Summit level canal
A summit level canal is an artificial waterway connecting two separate river valleys. It was an essential step in developing transport systems connecting different parts of a country before the railways or modern road transport....
s had been solved and modern canal systems started to appear. The 662-metre long steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
Briare aqueduct
Briare aqueduct
The Briare Aqueduct carries the Canal latéral à la Loire over the River Loire on its journey to the River Seine in France. It replaced a river-level crossing from the canal to meet the Briare Canal that was hazardous in times of flood...
carrying the Canal latéral à la Loire
Canal latéral à la Loire
The Canal Latéral à la Loire was constructed between 1827 and 1838 to connect the Canal de Briare at Briare and the Canal du Centre at Digoin, a distance of 196 km. It replaced the use of the River Loire which had reliability problems arising from winter floods and summer droughts...
over the River Loire
Loire
Loire is an administrative department in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loire's upper reaches.-History:Loire was created in 1793 when after just 3½ years the young Rhône-et-Loire department was split into two. This was a response to counter-Revolutionary activities in Lyon...
was built in 1896, and remained the longest navigable aqueduct in the world until the 21st century, when the Magdeburg Water Bridge
Magdeburg Water Bridge
The Magdeburg Water Bridge is a navigable aqueduct in Germany, opened in October 2003. It connects the Elbe-Havel Canal to the Mittellandkanal, crossing over the Elbe River...
in Germany took the title.
Early aqueducts such as the three on the Canal du Midi
Canal du Midi
The is a long canal in Southern France . The canal connects the Garonne River to the on the Mediterranean and along with the Canal de Garonne forms the Canal des Deux Mers joining the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. The canal runs from the city of Toulouse down to the Étang de Thau...
had stone or brick arches, the longest span being 18.3 metres on the Cesse aqueduct
Cesse Aqueduct
Cesse Aqueduct is one of several aqueducts, or water bridge, created for the Canal du Midi. Originally, the canal crossed the Cesse on the level...
, built in 1690. However the weight of the construction to support the trough with the clay or other lining to make it waterproof made these structures clumsy, and it was not until 1796 that the first large cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
aqueduct was built by Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...
at Longdon-on-Tern
Longdon-on-Tern
Longdon-on-Tern is a village in east central Shropshire, England. It is in the unitary district of Telford and Wrekin, and is approximately east of Shrewsbury and north-west of Telford....
on the Shrewsbury Canal
Shrewsbury Canal
The Shrewsbury Canal was a canal in Shropshire, England. Authorised in 1793, the main line from Trench to Shrewsbury was fully open by 1797, but it remained isolated from the rest of the canal network until 1835, when the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal built the Newport Branch from...
. It has a total length of 57 metres across three intermediate piers. Within ten years Telford had completed the far more ambitious Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is a navigable aqueduct that carries the Llangollen Canal over the valley of the River Dee in Wrexham in north east Wales....
on the Llangollen Canal
Llangollen Canal
The Llangollen Canal is a navigable canal crossing the border between England and Wales. The waterway links Llangollen in Denbighshire, north Wales, with Hurleston in south Cheshire, via the town of Ellesmere, Shropshire....
over the River Dee
River Dee, Wales
The River Dee is a long river in the United Kingdom. It travels through Wales and England and also forms part of the border between the two countries....
valley—total length 307 metres. Other cast iron aqueducts followed such as the single-span Stanley Ferry Aqueduct
Stanley Ferry Aqueduct
Stanley Ferry Aqueduct was built between 1836 and 1839 to take the Aire and Calder Navigation over the River Calder in West Yorkshire, England. It is one of the earliest through arch bridges in the world and is considered to be the largest aqueduct executed in cast iron.Designed by George Leather...
on the Calder and Hebble Navigation
Calder and Hebble Navigation
The Calder and Hebble Navigation is a Broad inland waterway in West Yorkshire, England, which has remained navigable since it was opened.-History:...
in 1839, with its innovative 50-metre through arch design.
Notable navigable aqueducts
- Benjamin OutramBenjamin OutramBenjamin Outram was an English civil engineer, surveyor and industrialist. He was a pioneer in the building of canals and tramways.-Personal life:...
's 44 ft-long single-span Holmes Aqueduct on the Derby CanalDerby CanalThe Derby Canal ran from the Trent and Mersey Canal at Swarkestone to Derby and Little Eaton, and to the Erewash Canal at Sandiacre, Derbyshire, England. The canal gained its Act of Parliament in 1793 and was fully completed in 1796...
in DerbyDerbyDerby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
was the world's first navigable cast ironCast ironCast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
aqueduct, narrowly pre-dating Thomas TelfordThomas TelfordThomas Telford FRS, FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...
's 186 ft-long Longdon-on-TernLongdon-on-TernLongdon-on-Tern is a village in east central Shropshire, England. It is in the unitary district of Telford and Wrekin, and is approximately east of Shrewsbury and north-west of Telford....
Aqueduct on the Shrewsbury CanalShrewsbury CanalThe Shrewsbury Canal was a canal in Shropshire, England. Authorised in 1793, the main line from Trench to Shrewsbury was fully open by 1797, but it remained isolated from the rest of the canal network until 1835, when the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal built the Newport Branch from...
, sometimes described as the world's first large-scale navigable cast iron aqueduct. - Pontcysyllte AqueductPontcysyllte AqueductThe Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is a navigable aqueduct that carries the Llangollen Canal over the valley of the River Dee in Wrexham in north east Wales....
(307m) carries the Llangollen CanalLlangollen CanalThe Llangollen Canal is a navigable canal crossing the border between England and Wales. The waterway links Llangollen in Denbighshire, north Wales, with Hurleston in south Cheshire, via the town of Ellesmere, Shropshire....
over the River Dee valley in north WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, and was designed by Thomas TelfordThomas TelfordThomas Telford FRS, FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...
and opened in 1805. The same canal, which includes a tunnelled section, crosses a second valley on the Chirk AqueductChirk AqueductChirk Aqueduct is a high and long navigable aqueduct that carries what is now the Llangollen Canal across the Ceiriog Valley near Chirk, on the England-Wales border....
(1796–1801). This navigable canal also supplies water to the former borough of Crewe and NantwichCrewe and NantwichCrewe and Nantwich was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It had a population of 111,007...
. - The Union CanalUnion Canal (Scotland)The Union Canal is a 31.5-mile canal in Scotland, from Lochrin Basin, Fountainbridge, Edinburgh to Falkirk, where it meets the Forth and Clyde Canal.-Location and features:...
in ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
has many aqueducts, including the Slateford AqueductSlateford AqueductThe Slateford Aqueduct is a navigable aqueduct in Slateford, Edinburgh, Scotland. It was built by Hugh Baird and completed in 1822 with advice from Thomas Telford....
that takes the canal over the Water of LeithWater of LeithThe Water of Leith is the main river flowing through Edinburgh, Scotland, to the port of Leith where it flows into the sea via the Firth of Forth.It is long and rises in the Colzium Springs at Millstone Rig of the Pentland Hills...
, the Almond AqueductAlmond AqueductThe Almond Aqueduct is a navigable aqueduct in Scotland, west of Ratho. Measuring long, it carries the Union Canal above the River Almond, from Edinburgh into West Lothian. It can be reached by car and by cyclists on the Union Canal path.-External links:**...
over the River AlmondRiver Almond, LothianThe River Almond is a river in east-central Scotland. It is 28 miles long, rising in North Lanarkshire near Shotts and runs through West Lothian, draining into the Firth of Forth at Cramond near Edinburgh....
at RathoRathoRatho is a village and civil parish in the west of Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. It was formerly in the old county of Midlothian. Newbridge and Kirkliston are other villages in the area. The Union Canal passes through Ratho. Edinburgh Airport is situated only 4 miles ...
and the very impressive Avon AqueductAvon AqueductThe Avon Aqueduct is a navigable aqueduct on the Union Canal near Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland, United Kingdom. It is long and high; it is the longest and tallest aqueduct in Scotland, and the second longest in Britain...
over the River AvonRiver Avon, FalkirkThe River Avon is a river in Falkirk, Scotland. It originates near Cumbernauld, flows through Avonbridge, through the Avon Gorge, through Muiravonside Country Park, Falkirk, past the west of Linlithgow and enters the Firth of Forth near Grangemouth....
. This is the second longest aqueduct in the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
- Briare aqueductBriare aqueductThe Briare Aqueduct carries the Canal latéral à la Loire over the River Loire on its journey to the River Seine in France. It replaced a river-level crossing from the canal to meet the Briare Canal that was hazardous in times of flood...
(1896) near Châtillon-sur-LoireChâtillon-sur-LoireChâtillon-sur-Loire is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France.-See also:*Communes of the Loiret department...
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, is built of steel and was for a long time at 662m the longest canal aqueduct in the world. - In recent years the building of the Lichfield Canal Aqueduct prompted the UK government to pass legislation preventing a road being built in the path of a canal being renovated without providing a tunnel or aqueduct for it to pass.
- Barton Swing AqueductBarton Swing AqueductThe Barton Swing Aqueduct is a moveable navigable aqueduct in Barton upon Irwell in Greater Manchester, England. It carries the Bridgewater Canal across the Manchester Ship Canal. The swinging action allows large vessels using the Manchester Ship Canal to pass underneath and smaller narrowboats to...
is a swing bridgeSwing bridgeA swing bridge is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its centre of gravity, about which the turning span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right...
that carries the Bridgewater CanalBridgewater CanalThe Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester...
across the lower Manchester Ship CanalManchester Ship CanalThe Manchester Ship Canal is a river navigation 36 miles long in the North West of England. Starting at the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift...
. A 234 ft (71.3 m) section of the aqueduct rotates through 90 degrees to allow vessels to pass along the Ship Canal. - An aqueduct near Roelofarendsveen, NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
(1961) (52°12′55.96"N 4°37′35.46"E) carries the RingvaartRingvaartThe Ringvaart is a canal in the province of North Holland, the Netherlands. The Ringvaart is a true circular canal surrounding the Haarlemmermeer polder and forms the boundary of the Haarlemmermeer municipality...
canalCanalCanals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
over the A4 highwayHighwayA highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...
and the HSL-ZuidHSL-ZuidHSL-Zuid , is a 125 km-long high-speed railway line in the Netherlands to the Belgian border, with a branch to Breda. Together with the Belgian HSL 4 it forms the Schiphol–Antwerp high-speed railway...
being constructed, which are situated on land below the level of the canal (and below sea level). - Gouwe aqueduct, near GoudaGoudaGouda is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Gouda, which was granted city rights in 1272, is famous for its Gouda cheese, smoking pipes, and 15th-century city hall....
in the NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, carries the Gouwe riverRiverA river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
over the A12 highway, which is on land below the level of the river. - The Ash Aqueduct (1995) carries the Basingstoke CanalBasingstoke CanalThe Basingstoke Canal is a British Canal, completed in 1794, built to connect Basingstoke with the River Thames at Weybridge via the Wey Navigation....
over the River BlackwaterRiver Blackwater (River Loddon)The River Blackwater is a tributary of the River Loddon in England and, indirectly, of the River Thames. It rises at Rowhill on the outskirts of Aldershot between Aldershot in Hampshire and Farnham in Surrey and runs northwards to join the Loddon near the village of Swallowfield in Berkshire...
and Blackwater Valley Relief Road (A331). - The Magdeburg Water BridgeMagdeburg Water BridgeThe Magdeburg Water Bridge is a navigable aqueduct in Germany, opened in October 2003. It connects the Elbe-Havel Canal to the Mittellandkanal, crossing over the Elbe River...
in GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(2003) connects the important Mittellandkanal over the river ElbeElbeThe Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
to the Elbe-Havel canalElbe-Havel CanalThe Elbe–Havel Canal is a 56-kilometre-long waterway in Germany. It links Magdeburg, on the River Elbe, with Brandenburg on the River Havel.Since 2003, the Elbe-Havel Canal has been connected to the Mittelland Canal by the unique Magdeburg Water Bridge, which crosses above the River Elbe. The...
. Nearly 1 km long, it is the longest aqueduct in Europe.