Canal de Somme
the river Somme was for centuries considered a strategic route for navigation inland to Picardy and Paris, potentially faster and more reliable than the Seine, particularly for trade with England. The first comprehensive plan for canalisation was produced in 1729. The meandering river was not easily tamed, however, and the Intendant of Picardy reporting in 1763 found the navigation to be in a ‘pitiful state’. Complete canalisation was authorised under Louis XVI in 1785, but works were interrupted by the Revolution. The project revived by Napoleon in 1810 included a ‘ship canal’ (canal maritime) between Saint-Valery-sur-Somme and Abbeville. The waterway was opened to navigation above Abbeville in 1827, while the ship canal was completed in 1835. Locks were 34 m by 6.25 m wide, later enlarged to Freycinet dimensions. The two locks on the section incorporated in the Canal du Nord were rebuilt in 1964 to the dimensions adopted for that project, 90 by 6 m. The canal was among the first to be conceded to a local authority, in this case the Somme département, in 1992, but the concession was limited to the section west of Péronne.
Canal de Somme
the river Somme was for centuries considered a strategic route for navigation inland to Picardy and Paris, potentially faster and more reliable than the Seine, particularly for trade with England. The first comprehensive plan for canalisation was produced in 1729. The meandering river was not easily tamed, however, and the Intendant of Picardy reporting in 1763 found the navigation to be in a ‘pitiful state’. Complete canalisation was authorised under Louis XVI in 1785, but works were interrupted by the Revolution. The project revived by Napoleon in 1810 included a ‘ship canal’ (canal maritime) between Saint-Valery-sur-Somme and Abbeville. The waterway was opened to navigation above Abbeville in 1827, while the ship canal was completed in 1835. Locks were 34 m by 6.25 m wide, later enlarged to Freycinet dimensions. The two locks on the section incorporated in the Canal du Nord were rebuilt in 1964 to the dimensions adopted for that project, 90 by 6 m. The canal was among the first to be conceded to a local authority, in this case the Somme département, in 1992, but the concession was limited to the section west of Péronne.