That is exactly what the Magdeburg Water Bridge (Kanalbruecke Magdeburg) is: a freeway overpass for boats. Technically, it is an aqueduct, not a bridge, but it is so large that it is navigable by huge barges. Looking down at it, the Magdeburg Water Bridge looks like a river that passes over another river, but more than 20 feet in the air. The canal crossing is 111 feet wide and 14 feet deep. With over 3,000 feet in length (750 feet over water, the remainder over land), it is the longest navigable aqueduct in the world. http://www.amusingplanet.com/2012/09/3-most-impressive-water-bridges-around.html
Location of the Magdeburg Water Bridge
Magdeburg is located in the former East Germany, about 100 miles southwest of Berlin. It spans the River Elbe and connects two important German shipping canals: The Mittelland Canal and the Elbe-Havel Canal. The aqueduct allows large ships to pass between the Rhineland and Berlin without having to first descend into and then climb out again of the River Elbe itself.
Purpose of the Magdeburg Water Bridge
The River Elbe flows at a significantly lower elevation than the Mittelland Canal or the Elbe-Havel Canal. To cross from one canal to another, barges had to make a 7.5-mile detour prior to construction of the canal crossing. The detour also included having to be lowered 60 feet into the River Elbe and then raised back up again into the Elbe-Havel Canal. The previous maximum load per barge was 880 tons. Since construction of the Magdeburg Water Bridge, maximum loads of 1,500 tons can be shipped, which is the equivalent of 50 truckloads.http://www.dw.de/europes-largest-water-bridge-opens/a-990878
Construction of the Magdeburg Water Bridge
Work on the Mittelland Canal began in 1905. Because of World War II, construction stopped in 1942. During the Cold War that which followed World War II, east-west trade became unimportant so that the East German government did not resume construction. After the reunification of Germany, however, work started again in 1997. Construction took six years and cost 501 million Euros. The aqueduct’s structure incorporates 26,500 tons of steel and 2,400,000 cubic feet of concrete.
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Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
Tags: Elbe-Havel Canal, Magdeburg Kanalbruecke, Magdeburg Water Bridge, Mittelland Canal, River Elbe
