Pont-canal du Ringvaart, Navigable aqueduct in Weteringbrug, Netherlands.
The Ringvaart aqueduct is a navigable waterway structure that carries boats on an 80-meter concrete span over the A4 highway, connecting different canal sections of the Haarlemmermeer polder. The design allows vessels to travel uninterrupted while road traffic passes underneath.
The structure was built in 1961 as a pioneering design for navigable transport in the Netherlands. A 2006 expansion reinforced its capacity to support additional highway lanes and the new high-speed rail line.
The structure demonstrates Dutch engineering skill by carrying fishing and recreational boats over a major highway, connecting water transport with modern road infrastructure.
The structure allows boats with masts over 2 meters to pass through while highway traffic flows uninterrupted below. Visitors can view the construction from nearby bridges or towpaths to see the engineering from different angles.
This is one of Europe's rare examples where water traffic and road traffic overlap without interfering with each other. This vertical stacking of different transport modes was innovative for infrastructure planning at that time.
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