Wilhelminakanal
The Wilhelminakanal ( Dutch Wilhelminakanaal ) is a canal in the Dutch province of Noord-Brabant . It runs from the Amer near Geertruidenberg and flows into the Zuid-Willemsvaart canal between Beek en Donk and Aarle-Rixtel . The Wilhelmina Canal has a length of 68 km. It is navigable for ships up to 500 t. Its depth averages 2.30 m, with the shallowest point 1.90 m deep. The width of the canal varies between 25 and 30 m.
The first plans to build a canal that would connect the cities of Tilburg and Eindhoven with the Meuse date back to 1794. However, the actual excavation work did not begin until 1910. The first ship docked in Tilburg on September 16, 1916, but the entire canal was not completed until 1923 and officially opened on April 4 of the same year.
In World War II, some bridges were fought over the canal. In the course of Operation Market Garden (autumn 1944) a makeshift bridge (the Bailey Bridge ) was built over the Wilhelmina Canal near Son, north of Eindhoven .
Between Eindhoven and Son en Breugel, the Dommel crosses the Wilhelmina Canal, where it flows under the canal located higher up.
Due to the increase in the transport of goods by road in the second half of the 20th century, the capacity utilization of the canal has decreased significantly.
Agreement 2007
On November 7, 2007, the Ministry of Transport (Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat), the province of Noord-Brabant and the municipality of Tilburg signed an agreement on the canal. This includes, among other things, widening and deepening the canal. fee distribution
- € 52 million: Ministry
- € 9.8 million: Noord-Brabant
- € 9.8 million: Tilburg
Web links
- Wilhelminakanaal . In: rijkswaterstaat.nl . Rijkswaterstaat (Dutch)
See also
- List of channels
- Iron Rhine - railway connection from the port of Duisburg to the port of Antwerp