Wednesday, October 1, 2014

the Cape Cod Canal, Massachusetts


Built between 1909 and 1914, thus contemporaneous with the Panama Canal (see earlier post), the Cape Cod Canal connects Cape Cod Bay in the north to Buzzards Bay in the south.

Part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, the approximately 7 mile (11.3 km) long canal traverses the narrow neck of land joining Cape Cod to the state's mainland. Most of its length follows tidal rivers widened to 480 feet (150 metres) and deepened to 32 feet (9.8 metres) at mean low water, shaving 135 miles (217 km) off the journey around the Cape for its approximately 14,000 annual users.

The pic shows an oil tanker passing under the vertical lifting railroad bridge built over 1933-1935 at Borne near Buzzards Bay. Its centre span is 544 feet (166 metres) long and has a 135-foot (41 metre) clearance when raised. The two towers are 271 feet (83 metres) high. It replaced a bascule bridge that had been built in 1910.

More

No comments: