The Briare Aqueduct in central France carries the
Canal latéral à la Loire
The Canal latéral à la Loire (, "canal parallel to the 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 . It replaced the use of the river Loire, which wa ...
over the river
Loire
The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...
on its journey to the
Seine
)
, mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur
, mouth_coordinates =
, mouth_elevation =
, progression =
, river_system = Seine basin
, basin_size =
, tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle
, tributarie ...
. It replaced a river-level crossing from the canal to meet the
Briare Canal
The Briare Canal (french: Canal de Briare, ) is one of the oldest canals in France. Its construction started in 1604. It was the first summit level canal in Europe that was built using pound locks, connecting the Rhone-Saône and Seine valleys. ...
that was hazardous in times of flood. Between 1896 and 2003 it was the longest
navigable aqueduct
Navigable aqueducts (sometimes called water bridges) are bridge structures that carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railways or roads. They are primarily distinguished by their size, carrying a larger cross-section of wa ...
in the world, until the opening of the
Magdeburg Water Bridge
The Magdeburg Water Bridge (german: Kanalbrücke Magdeburg) is a large navigable aqueduct in central Germany, located near Magdeburg. The largest canal underbridge in Europe, it spans the river Elbe and directly connects the Mittelland Canal, Mitt ...
.
It is part of the
Canal latéral à la Loire
The Canal latéral à la Loire (, "canal parallel to the 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 . It replaced the use of the river Loire, which wa ...
, not, as is commonly believed, the
Briare Canal
The Briare Canal (french: Canal de Briare, ) is one of the oldest canals in France. Its construction started in 1604. It was the first summit level canal in Europe that was built using pound locks, connecting the Rhone-Saône and Seine valleys. ...
.
History
![Pont-canal de Briare - 07](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Pont-canal_de_Briare_-_07.jpg)
The Briare
aqueduct near
Châtillon-sur-Loire
Châtillon-sur-Loire (, literally ''Châtillon on Loire'') is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France.
See also
* Communes of the Loiret department
The following is the list of the 325 communes of the Loiret department of Fr ...
was, for a long time, the longest steel canal aqueduct in the world. The aqueduct is 662 metres long
and lost its title of longest aqueduct to the
Magdeburg Water Bridge
The Magdeburg Water Bridge (german: Kanalbrücke Magdeburg) is a large navigable aqueduct in central Germany, located near Magdeburg. The largest canal underbridge in Europe, it spans the river Elbe and directly connects the Mittelland Canal, Mitt ...
which crosses the
Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...
and is 918 metres long. The aqueduct was designed by the engineers
Léonce-Abel Mazoyer and Charles Sigault.
The masonry abutments and piers were completed between 1890 and 1896 by
Gustave Eiffel
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (born Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; ; ; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway ...
and the steel channel was completed by
Daydé & Pillé of
Creil
Creil is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. The Creil station is an important railway junction.
History
Archaeological remains in the area include a Neolithic site as well as a late Iron Age necropolis, perhaps belonging to ...
. The aqueduct was inaugurated on 16 September 1896 with the crossing of the boat ''Aristide'', belonging to Ernest Guingamp. It allowed the development of transport to the
Freycinet gauge
The Freycinet gauge (french: gabarit Freycinet) is a standard governing the dimensions of the locks of some canals, put in place as a result of a law passed during the tenure of Charles de Freycinet as minister of public works of France, dating fr ...
between the Loire and Seine, and is a registered historic monument in France.
![A 2007 view of the structure of Briare pont-canal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/A_2007_view_of_the_structure_of_Briare_pont-canal.jpg)
The aqueduct is built on fourteen piers. These piers support a single steel beam in turn supporting a steel channel which contains more than 13,000 tonnes of water, 2.2 meters deep and 6 metres wide allowing boats with a 1.8m draught to cross. The width of the aqueduct, towpaths included, is 11.5 meters and its length is 662.7 meters.
There is a line of standard lamps on each side of aqueduct. Each end is marked by two ornamental columns in imitation of the
Pont Alexandre III
The Pont Alexandre III is a deck arch bridge that spans the Seine in Paris. It connects the Champs-Élysées quarter with those of the Invalides and Eiffel Tower. The bridge is widely regarded as the most ornate, extravagant bridge in the city. ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. Eight sluices make it possible to empty the aqueduct in the event of severe freezing.
See also
*
List of bridges in France
This list of bridges in France lists bridges of particular historical, scenic, architectural or engineering interest. Road and railway bridges, viaducts, aqueducts and footbridges are included.
Historical and architectural interest bridges
{{row ...
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
The French article from which this article was translated
Coeur-de-france.com, in French*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Briare Aqueduct
Navigable aqueducts in France
Bridges completed in 1896