Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct Traphont Ddŵr Pontcysyllte
Coordinates	52°58′14″N 03°05′16″W / 52.97056°N 3.08778°W / 52.97056; -3.08778
OS grid reference	SJ270420
Carries	Llangollen Canal
Crosses	River Dee
Locale	Froncysyllte, Wrexham, Wales
Maintained by	Glandŵr Cymru – the Canal & River Trust
Heritage status	Grade I listed
Characteristics
Trough construction	Cast iron
Pier construction	Stone
Total length	336 yd (307 m)
Width	12 ft (3.7 m)
Height	126 ft (38 m)
Water depth	5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Traversable?	Yes
Towpaths	East side
No. of spans	18
Piers in water	4
History
Designer	Thomas Telford
Construction start	25 July 1795
Opened	26 November 1805
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal
Criteria	Cultural: i, ii, iv
Reference	1303
Inscription	2009 (33rd Session)
Area	105 ha
Buffer zone	4,145 ha
Location

The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (Welsh pronunciation: [ˌpɔntkəˈsəɬtɛ]; Welsh: Traphont Ddŵr Pontcysyllte) is a navigable aqueduct that carries the Llangollen Canal across the River Dee in the Vale of Llangollen in northeast Wales.

The 18-arched stone and cast iron structure is for use by narrowboats and was completed in 1805 having taken ten years to design and build. It is 12 feet (3.7 metres) wide and is the longest aqueduct in Great Britain as well as the highest canal aqueduct in the world. A towpath runs alongside the watercourse on one side.^[1][2]

The aqueduct was to have been a key part of the central section of the proposed Ellesmere Canal, an industrial waterway that would have created a commercial link between the River Severn at Shrewsbury and the Port of Liverpool on the River Mersey. Although a less expensive construction course was surveyed further to the east, the westerly high-ground route across the Vale of Llangollen was preferred because it would have taken the canal through the mineral-rich coalfields of North East Wales. Only parts of the canal route were completed because the expected revenues required to complete the entire project were never generated. Most major work ceased after the completion of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in 1805.

The structure is a Grade I listed building^[3] and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.