Ring canal

The Ringvaart is a canal of 21.6 km long that describes a half arch around the Belgian city of Ghent and connects all watercourses that run through this city. The R4 motorway around Ghent runs for a large part along the banks of the Ringvaart.

History
The excavation of the Ringvaart started in 1950 and would continue for about 20 years, with the main objective of keeping shipping out of Ghent's city centre and limiting the risk of flooding in the city centre. From east to west and clockwise, it connects the Scheldt (Zeeschelde), again the Scheldt (Upper Scheldt), the Zwijnaarde canal, the Lys, the Ghent-Ostend canal and the Ghent-Terneuzen canal.

Locks
There are 2 lock complexes on the Ringvaart, one near Wondelgem, the Westbeke lock complex, and one near Merelbeke.

Capacity
The Ringvaart is accessible everywhere for barges up to 2000 tonnes and will be adapted for vessels up to 4,500 tonnes as part of the Seine-Scheldt Network by 2016.
More information on Wikipedia

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