continue
tour:
LaSalle/Peru
| Marseilles
As you cross the Fox River at the west end of Ottawa, look south to see how two other kinds of transportation
bridged the river. The structure closest to you is the enormous, 464-foot
long aqueduct that carried the I&M Canal over the Fox River. While the
aqueduct no longer carries water, the I&M Canal State Trail traverses
it, giving hikers and cyclists an impressive view. Beyond the aqueduct is
a railroad bridge.Thanks to state funding, the aqueduct’s original stone piers were recently repaired. The steel trough that
carried
the canal was originally built in wood. Hailed when it was built as an “engineering
wonder” the aqueduct today provides a sense of the engineering challenges
of canal building. To keep water and boats moving 96 miles between Chicago
and LaSalle, the canal required five aqueducts, 17 locks, 4 feeder canals,
numerous dams and culverts and a pumping station.
