Lachine Canal

The Lachine Canal ( Canal de Lachine French, English Lachine Canal ) is a canal in the Canadian province of Québec. It starts in the Lac Saint -Louis in Lachine, crosses the southeastern part of Île de Montréal and ends after 14.1 km in the old port of Montreal. The canal was built in the 1820s in order to bypass the Lachine rapids in the St. Lawrence River can. Today it is used mainly for tourists, it is classified as a National Historic Site of Canada since 1996.

History

In 1689, the French colonial government planned the first time the construction of a canal to bypass the dangerous Lachine rapids, as this greatly hindered the continuous waterway to the Great Lakes. The project failed, as well as several follow-up projects in the following decades. Montreal businessmen who feared economic disadvantages because of the Erie Canal under construction, established in 1821 by a consortium. Construction was completed four years later. The channel had seven locks and served mainly the transport of goods.

Montreal developed as a result a major port and the Lachine Canal along also flourished in the numerous industries. Soon, the channel proved to be too small, so he had to be expanded in the years 1843-1848. Instead of just now had five seven locks. A second extension of the channel followed 1873-1884. Since the St. Lawrence River had been developed in other places, ocean common cargo ships could now be run from the Atlantic to Lake Superior, which next to the railway the most important prerequisite for the development of the western provinces was.

Until the 1950s, the channel has been successfully operated. But then he turned out to be the face of growing transport volume and the growing ships again be too small. Due to the limited space available it could be extended no more time. After the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in 1959, the channel lost greatly in importance and was finally closed in 1970. Eight years later, he came into the possession of Parks Canada. As part of an urban renewal project, the Lachine Canal was reopened in 2002 and released for leisure and tourism purposes.