Pont-canal de Carentan, Navigable aqueduct in Carentan-les-Marais, France.
The Pont-canal de Carentan is a 615-metre beam structure opened in 1994 that carries the four-lane Route Nationale 13 beneath the Carentan harbour basin. Its central 85-metre span is a monolithic two-cell box girder, prestressed lengthwise, resting on deep and semi-deep foundations and leaving a 19.60-metre opening with 4.85 metres of headroom. Two open-cut approach trenches in reinforced concrete, 280 metres west and 250 metres east, lead down to it; the roadway lies 10 metres below the canal at its lowest point.
Built from 1992 to 1994, the structure was designed by Charles Lavigne and opened on 6 June 1994. The site employed 60 to 80 people daily over 22 months, totalling more than 300,000 work hours, at a cost of 163 million francs. It carries the two-by-two-lane National Route 13 from Caen to Cherbourg beneath the tidal basin linking the port of Carentan to the sea.
The structure takes its name from the canal it spans, the bassin à flot linking the port of Carentan to the sea. It was designed by Charles Lavigne and opened on 6 June 1994, the anniversary of the Normandy landings, a date locals associate with the town's wartime history. The deck carries the RN 13, the Caen–Cherbourg axis.
The road deck lies 10 m below the canal at its lowest point, so the crossing is seen from the N13 itself or from the banks of the floating basin above. Water from the surrounding water table is pumped out to counter hydrostatic pressure. The structure is 615 m long, with open trenches of 280 m west and 250 m east.
The road deck lies 10 metres below the canal water level at its lowest point. Because a water table presses on the structure, pumps continuously drive seepage water back out. The design is by Charles Lavigne, and the 22-month works cost 163 million francs.
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