The Magdeburg Water Bridge

If you are not a Physics person, read the last paragraph and learn a fact of physics.

Have you ever seen a river over a river? AMAZING.....



Even after you see it, it is still hard to believe!
Six years, 500 million euros, 918 meters long . . . now this is engineering!

This is a channel-bridge over the River Elbe and joins the former East and West Germany, as part of the unification project. It is located in the city of Magdeburg , near Berlin ..The photo was taken on the day of inauguration . . .

To those who appreciate engineering projects, here's a puzzle for you armchair engineers and physicists.

Question:

Did that bridge have to be designed to withstand the additional weight of ship and barge traffic, or just the weight of the water?

Answer:

It only needs to be designed to withstand the weight of the water!

Why?

A ship always displaces an amount of water that weighs the same as the ship, regardless of how heavily a ship may be loaded.

Even after you see it, it is still hard to believe! Water Bridge in Germany. What a feat! Six years, 500 million euros, 918 meters long . . . now this is engineering!

This is a channel-bridge over the River Elbe and joins the former East and West Germany, as part of the unification project. It is located in the city of Magdeburg , near Berlin ..

The photo was taken on the day of inauguration . . .

The Incredible Magdeburg Water Bridge in Germany

The Magdeburg Water Bridge is a navigable aqueduct in Germany that connects the Elbe-Havel Canal to the Mittelland Canal , and allows ships to cross over the Elbe River . At 918 meters, it is the longest navigable aqueduct in the world.
The Elbe-Havel and Mittelland canals had previously met near Magdeburg but on opposite sides of the Elbe . Ships moving between the two had to make a 12-kilometer detour, descending from the Mittelland Canal through the Rothensee boat lift into the Elbe, then sailing downstream on the river, before entering the Elbe-Havel Canal through Niegripp lock. Low water levels in the Elbe often prevented fully laden canal barges from making this crossing, requiring time-consuming off-loading of cargo.






Construction of the water link was started as early as in the 1930s but due to the World War 2 and subsequent division of Germany the work remained suspended till 1997. The aqueduct was finally completed and opened to the public in 2003.

*Thanks, DW