Avon Aqueduct

55.964333333333 - 3.65625Koordinaten: 55 ° 57 ' 51.6 "N, 3 ° 39' 22.5 " W

F1

Union Canal

Avon

The Avon Aqueduct is a canal bridge over the Avon which forms at this point, the boundary between the Scottish Unitary Authority's West Lothian and Falkirk. It is the longest canal bridge in Scotland and, after the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, the second longest in the UK. In 1972, the building was added to the Scottish lists of monuments in the highest category A.

Description

The 247 m long and 7.2 m wide canal bridge is around one kilometer southwest of the small town of White Cross. It leads the Union Canal over the Avon. The construction was begun in 1818 and finally completed in 1822. In the same year the Union Canal was opened. The bridge leads into twelve arches over the river, which have a clear height of 23 m. The arcs have a length of around 15 per m. The channel narrows before the bridge ends and is performed with a width of four meters at a depth of 1.8 meters in a steel enclosure over the bridge. As this design heavy stone structures to accommodate the lateral water pressure are necessary, the bridge could be built relatively easily. On one side of a 1.2 m wide footpath along the waterway runs. The substructure is accessible for maintenance purposes through an entrance at the north end.