Orb Aqueduct
The Orb Aqueduct () is a bridge which carries the Canal du Midi over the Orb in the city of Béziers in Languedoc, France. The aqueduct is wide, tall and at is the longest on the Canal du Midi.

Prior to the opening of the aqueduct in 1858, the Canal du Midi traversed a short section of the Orb itself. The opening of the aqueduct allowed boats to avoid the sometimes dangerous and unpredictable river which often caused extended delays - in 1779 exceptional floods caused the river section to be impassable for seventeen days. Various schemes were proposed to bypass the Orb; an aqueduct of over 1 km in length was proposed in 1739 and in 1756 a plan to carry the canal in a tunnel "under" the Orb was put forward. However, neither proposal was implemented.

In April 1854, the Chief Engineer of the Canal Company, M. Magues, prepared designs for the present aqueduct together with new channels to take the canal from the side of the seventh and second lowest chamber of the Fonserannes Lock, across the Orb and to rejoin the original course of the Midi. The plans involved the construction of two new locks, Orb Lock and Béziers Lock, as well as a canal basin to the east of the Orb. Permission for the new works was granted by a decree of Emperor Napoleon III in June 1854 and the construction was completed by May 1856 and opened for use in 1858.

The aqueduct is built of stone with seven spans and carries the canal in a masonry trough sealed with a layer of concrete. There are towpaths on each side of the waterway and underneath are two arcaded walkways. The walkways are now not accessible except for maintenance. The concrete seal was replaced in 1951 but otherwise the original structure is intact.
Q202494
Canal du Midi
LOC
Q2028483
Orb
LOC
Q174019
Béziers
LOC
Q206221
Languedoc
LOC
Q142
France
LOC
Q1030403
aqueduct
Concept
Q1030403
aqueduct
Concept
Q586271
Fonserannes Lock
LOC
None
Orb Lock
UNK
None
Béziers Lock
UNK
Q7721
Emperor Napoleon III
PER
Q650399
towpath
Concept
Q186637
arcaded
Concept
Q2669572
Orb Aqueduct
LOC
1858-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1858
DATE
1779-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1779
DATE
1739-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1739
DATE
1756-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1756
DATE
1854-04-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
April 1854
DATE
1854-06-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
June 1854
DATE
1856-05-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
May 1856
DATE
1858-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1858
DATE
1951-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1951
DATE
+1^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
1
NUMBER
carries
crosses
located in the administrative territorial entity
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instance of
instance of
country
country
located in or next to body of water
located in or next to body of water
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