Menu
Burgundy Canal
Boats & barges
- Barge cruises
- Direct bookings
- Self drive Boat rental
- B & B barges
- Boats barges for sale
- Ship yards
- Season jobs & crew employment
Canalside
Accommodation
Exploring
Activities
The tunnel
Though the final choice of route and itinerary could have been improved, the natural lay of the land made things very complicated for the engineers, who did not have lasers or satellites to assist in decisions. Their skills depended on local knowledge, exploration of the terrain and clever algebra. The most complicated choice concerns the top section, with the final decision being the construction of the tunnel between Pouilly en Auxois and Escommes. There is still much polemic about the tunnel; the construction costs, poor design and possible alternative routes which could have been taken. However this can no longer be changed.
The problem is mainly for the commecial barges and when they are empty, as they have a low keel depth but much height and as the tunnel is not that high... So the cargo barges have generally prefered to take alternative routes such as the Canal Du Centre or the Canal Marne a la Saone.
Improvements to the tunnel
In 2007 the tunnel has been equipped with electric lights, for security this is a great improvement (eventhough I think you should have the choice of using your own navigation lights.
The tow path
For many years the quality of the tow path has deteriated due to lack of maintenance general neglect. Cars, buses, tractors, motorbikes and other objects circulating free of will, bank erosion, lack of caring for the trees and over-growth of weeds are all to blame. In the last few years, there has been an increase in the trend for health, sports and out-door activites which has created an interest for the environment surrounding the canal.
The banks, erosion and wake.
The deteriation of the tow-path has also added to the errosion of the banks, increased the number of leaks and hence the quantity of water necessary to keep the canal operational.
However there are other reasons such as the introduction of propellors on the boats, where as before the barges where jusst horse drawn. The wakes created by the motors have increased this erosion.
Another factor which must not be ingnored is the ontroduction of coypu (Myocastor coypus) which resembles a castor. These animals have been able to dig large tunnels in the banks, which in some cases have collapsed.
In the last couple of years there has been a huge investment to restore the canals by placing steel banks to support the earthern structures both along the canal and on the reservoirs.
Water leaks
Poorly maintained locks will leak, therefore increasing the amount of water necessary to keep the locks operating. The oak seals between the lock doors and the main walls were not replaced at regular intervals. Once again in recent times there has been much effort to restore the woodwork used on the locks, a skilled craft, as each oak seal has to be made on site to fit exaclty in place.
Untrained look keepers have often been rightly accused of not managing the water levels at the locks for which they were responible. This meant that either there was too much water in the stretch above or below the lock and flooding. It is also a waster of the valuble water supply.
Although there remains a minority of these people, there has been a great step in training the lock keepers and informing them on the importance of the job, the consequences due to neglect.
There still remains a fundemental problem concerning mentalities, as the career of a lock keeper is regarded as the back-end of the French civil service.