A massive 110-year-old structure in Alberta was once a world record holder
Alberta has plenty of impressive attractions, and one structure nestled in our province is more than 110 years old, with a very important past.
We’re talking about the Brooks Aqueduct National Historic Site of Canada, located in a shallow valley five kilometres southeast of Brooks, Alta.
The Brooks Aqueduct is an impressive reinforced concrete structure over 3.1 kilometres in length, featuring a large flume mounted on 20-metre-high columns, according to Parks Canada.
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The site also includes an inverted siphon, now filled to ground level with lean concrete, that carried water under the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) main line. Built by the CPR between 1912 and 1914, and originally used to bring irrigation waters to semi-arid soils, the reinforced concrete aqueduct is no longer in use.
The aqueduct transported water from Lake Newell and the Bow River across a shallow valley running north to south in order to facilitate the irrigation of 55,000 hectares of land in the area east of Brooks. The structure was a major engineering achievement and features a catenary-shaped flume mounted on 1,030 columns, and an inverted siphon to carry water under the CPR main line.
When the Brooks Aqueduct was completed in 1914, it was the largest aqueduct of its type in the world. Stresses on the concrete from the freeze-thaw cycle, however, caused a deterioration of the aqueduct, which required annual repairs. In 1979, sixty-five years after its inauguration, a more efficient and larger capacity canal replaced the aqueduct.
The aqueduct was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1983 because it was constructed between 1912 and 1914 and considered a major engineering feat, a reinforced concrete aqueduct over 3.1 kilometres in length, featuring a catenary-shaped flume mounted on 1,030 columns, and an inverted siphon under the CPR main line.
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If you’re on the hunt for other unique spots to visit in Alberta, go ahead and check out this surprising spot National Geographic tapped as a must-visit, a spot named one of the most picturesque places in the world, or a town named a top travel destination for Canadians.
You can read more about the Brooks Aqueduct on the Parks Canada website.