Ruins of the Broad Run Aqueduct at Mile 31.9 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath
Broad Run Aqueduct is located at Mile 31.9 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath. It cannot be accessed by vehicle, so reaching it requires hiking or biking 1 mile (one way) upstream from the closest parking area, Lock and Lockhouse 25. See the Locks and Lockhouses web page for an interactive location map.
A canal aqueduct is a nifty little feat of engineering that solves the problem of what to do when a canal crosses paths with a creek or river. Both are waterways, but the canal is a self-contained channel and cannot temporarily merge with the river because all of its water will spill out uncontrollably. The solution is to elevate the canal over the waterway via a bridge. In essence, a large, elevated bathtub must be built—water cannot leak out of the bottom and sides. This is done with a thick layer of clay and stone on the bottom and solid stone walls for sides.
Illustration of an aqueduct–the Catoctin Aqueduct–in use
If you have seen some of the intact aqueducts on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal such as the ones at Antietam Creek and Catoctin Creek, the Broad Run Aqueduct will be of interest because here the canal bridge is missing. The Broad Run (a small creek) isn’t very wide to begin with, so the stretch of elevated canal would have been short. Also, unlike the above mentioned aqueducts where the canal bed is supported by masonry-arch architecture, the canal platform that spanned Broad Run was made of wood, which probably explains why it no longer exists.
Section where the bridge would have been on the Broad Run Aqueduct in Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park
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Last updated on June 2, 2024
