Canal Latéral de la Garonne

The Canal de Garonne, formerly known as Canal latéral à la Garonne, is a French canal dating from the mid-19th century that connects Toulouse to Castets-en-Dorthe. The remainder of the route to Bordeaux uses the river Garonne. It is the continuation of the Canal du Midi which connects the Mediterranean with Toulouse. Together, they and the Garonne form the Canal des Deux Mers which connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. The canal runs along the right bank of the Garonne, crosses the river in Agen via the Agen aqueduct, then continues along the left bank. It is connected to the Canal du Midi at its source in Toulouse, and emerges at Castets-en-Dorthe on the Garonne, 54 km southwest of Bordeaux, a point where the river is navigable. The canal is supplied with water from the Garonne by two sources: The Canal de Brienne in Toulouse, taking up to 7 m3/s from the river Garonne upstream of Bazacle dam The Brax pumping station near Agen. With the exception of the five locks at Montech, bypassed by the water slope, all of the locks have a length of 40.5 m and a width of 6 m. The locks at Montech are as built, 30.65 m long. More than 100 bridges were built on the canal. Many were rebuilt in 1933 as prestressed concrete bow bridges, to allow for the requirements of larger barges. The canal has a width of 18 meters at the water level. It has 53 locks, with a total difference in level of 128 meters. Its design depth is 2 metres, for a draught of 1.80 metres (although a practical maximum of 1.30 metres, especially at Castets-en-Dorthe, exists as of June 2017). The minimum headroom beneath bridges and other structures is 3.60 metres. Canal du Midi The benefits of a continental waterway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea were recognized even in antiquity; such a route would bypass the dangerous 3,000 km journey through the Strait of Gibraltar and along the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula. Studies were commissioned by Nero, Augustus, Charlemagne, Francis I of France, Charles IX of France and Henry IV of France, but no scheme came to fruition.