The Magdeburg Water Bridge (aka: Kanalbrücke Magdeburg) is the longest navigable aqueduct in the world.
It’s 3,012 feet long, 112 feet wide, 14 feet deep, and 2,264 feet overland.
It spans the Elbe River and directly connects the Mittellandkanal on the west side and Elbe-Havel Canal on the east side of the river.
A double lock allows large commercial ships to pass between the Rhineland and Berlin without having to descend into and then climb out of the Elbe itself.
Constructed from 1998-2003, the bridge cost over €500 million Euros.
The water bridge now connects Berlin’s inland harbor network with the ports along the Rhine River. The aqueduct’s tough structure incorporates 24,000 tons of steel and 68,000 cubic meters of concrete.
Prior to the bridge being built, vessels had to climb upstream from a specific canal point and then travel downstream parallel to the river’s route. After that, they had to travel upstream again to reach the particular docking destination located on the other end canal point. All this was a distance of almost 8 miles.
