Water Highways The Aqueduct Wonders
Getting water to where it is needed has been a concern from times immemorial. While early civilizations set themselves up close to water sources, there were difficulties as the settlement spread. Aqueducts or water bridges are architectural wonders that have been addressing the issue of water supply. Although famously associated with the Romans, aqueducts were devised much earlier in the near East and Indian subcontinent where Egyptians and Harappans built sophisticated irrigation systems. Water bridges went a step ahead to allow navigation also.
Bridging the span of time, are two aqueducts both remarkable engineering feats on their own. In the news recently was the 918-meter Magdeburg water bridge in Germany, the longest aqueduct in Europe, connecting the important Mittellandkanal over the river Elbe to the Elbe-Havel canal. At the other end of the time bridge is the Solani aqueduct, Roorkee, India’s first aqueduct.
Magdeburg Water Bridge
The inauguration of the Magdeburg Water Bridge in October 2003 marked the realization of an idea conceived way back in 1919. Lost in the turmoil of the World War II and the consequent division of Germany, the project regained its prominence with the reunification of the country. Construction was started in 1998 after a whopping 80 years in planning!
The Magdeburg Water Bridge over the Elbe River links the vital Elbe-Havel Canal and the Mittellandkanal, two of Germany’s important shipping canals that meet near Magdeburg. The water bridge leads to the country’s industrial Ruhr Valley heartland. Often described as a “concrete bathtub” the structure required over 500 million, 24,000 metric tons of steel and 68,000 cubic meters of concrete to build.
The purpose of the project was two-fold -
To overcome the problem of Elbe’s unreliable passage if the river’s watermark fell to unacceptably low levels. Year round East-West traffic is possible for motor-ships and push tows independent of the River Elbe.
