Canal de Neuffossé

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Canal de Neuffossé
Connection between Canal d'Aire and Aa

Connection between Canal d'Aire and Aa

Water code FRE40-0182
location France , Hauts-de-France region
length 20 km
Built Commissioned in 1774
Expanded Late 1960s
class Va
Beginning Continuation of the Canal d'Aire at Aire-sur-la-Lys
The End Crossing into the canalised Aa at Saint-Omer
Descent structures Fontinettes, Flandres
Ports Aire-sur-la-Lys, Arques, Saint-Omer
Junctions, crossings channeled Lys
Used river Leie, Aa
Outstanding structures Les Fontinettes boat lift
Downhill Direction Saint-Omer
Responsible WSD Nord-Pas-de-Calais / Subdivision Saint-Omer
Part of the large shipping route Dunkirk-Scheldt
Canal de Neuffosse, Arque.JPG
The canal in Arques
Schachtschleuse Écluse of Fontinettes in Arques

The Canal de Neuffossé (sometimes also: Canal de Neufossé ) is a French shipping canal that runs through the Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments in the Hauts-de-France region . Today it is part of the large shipping route Dunkirk-Scheldt .

geography

The canal connects the rivers Leie (French: Lys ) and Aa and continues in the canalised lower reaches of the Aa towards Dunkirk . It is a connecting canal with a height difference of about 17 meters.

Coordinates

Course and technical infrastructure

The canal begins at Aire-sur-la-Lys , at the junction of the canalised Leie, and is the continuation of the Canal d'Aire, which ends there . It generally runs north-west and reaches the upper reaches of the Aa at Arques , which, however, is branched off to supply the old canal and the city port of Saint-Omer . The new canal section ( Dérivation de Saint-Omer ) bypasses the city of Saint-Omer in the east through the foothills of the Regional Nature Park Caps et Marais d'Opale and then meets again with the old canal. Here the Canal de Neuffossé ends and merges into the canalised section of the Aa, which is the continuation of the large shipping route towards Dunkirk. The Canal de Neuffossé is around 20 kilometers long and has two locks (Fontinettes and Flandres), which are dimensioned for push convoys with a loading capacity of up to 3,000 tons.

history

The first plans and concepts for this canal go back to the year 1053. A serious start was made in 1753 and commissioning took place in 1774. The locks, originally built in the Freycinet format, were rebuilt in the 1960s and 1970s, the canal straightened, widened, deepened and integrated into the major shipping route Dunkirk-Schelde. From the old route you can still see the abandoned city crossings, e.g. B. in Aire-sur-la-Lys and Saint-Omer.

The Fontinettes lock near Arques is particularly interesting : originally, the height difference of around 13 meters was overcome with a staircase of five locks, until they were replaced in 1887 by the Les Fontinettes boat lift , a technical masterpiece at the time. When the large shipping route was expanded, the ship lift was taken out of service in 1967 and replaced by a modern lock.

Places on the canal

Attractions

Web links

Commons : Canal de Neuffossé  - collection of images, videos and audio files

literature