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During most of the 1930s, before the completion of the Albert Canal, it took about seven days to travel from
Antwerp to Liège by water. In the 21st century, that same distance can be covered in about 18 hours.
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The canal is also a popular leisure and cycling destination, with well paved service roads on both sides traversing picturesque farm land, particularly around
Smeermaas, Lanaken and Maasmechelen.
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worked on the canal between 1930 and 1934, but it was completed by
Belgian companies. The Albert Canal was used for the first time in 1940 but, because of
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The Albert Canal has a standard depth of 3.4 metres (11 ft) and an overhead clearance of 6.7 metres (22 ft). To allow four-stacked
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During World War II, the Albert Canal functioned as a defence line. The crossing of the canal by the German forces and the destruction of
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In 2002, the canal carried a record 43 million tons of goods of various kinds, amounting to more than half the
Belgian waterway total.
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were needed to overcome this difference. Five canal locks each have a lift of 10 metres (33 ft), and these are located in
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traffic, bridges over the canal are currently being heightened to allow for a 9.1 metres (30 ft) overhead.
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Between
Antwerp and Liège, there is a difference in elevation of 56 metres (184 ft), and six sets of
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The Albert Canal was constructed from 1930 through 1939. The German construction company
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entered
Belgium further to the east on its way to liberate the rest of Belgium, and
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also crossed the Albert Canal on its way north across
Belgium and into the
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During the
Liberation of Belgium by the Allies in September 1944, the
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was the first Allied unit to cross the Albert Canal. The
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Cycling path along the canal, near
Smeermaas, Limburg
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512:"Cycling Belgium's Waterways: Albert Canal"
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124:Learn how and when to remove this message
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449:on 11 May 1940 was a milestone in the
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62:adding citations to reliable sources
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339:river. It also connects with the
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27:For the Spanish footballer, see
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341:Dessel–Turnhout–Schoten Canal
323:. The Albert Canal connects
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319:, which was named for King
291:[ˈɑl.bərt.kaːˌnaːl]
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191:80.5 miles (129.6 km)
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604:Geography of Antwerp
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58:improve this article
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321:Albert I of Belgium
619:Transport in Liège
609:Geography of Liège
589:Canals in Flanders
555:51.0674°N 5.1907°E
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347:Size and geography
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56:Please help
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18:Albertkanaal
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466:Netherlands
432:Hochtief AG
360:canal locks
237:Start point
573:Categories
543:51°04′03″N
526:10 October
516:Gamber.net
474:Luxembourg
368:Diepenbeek
304:pronounced
287:pronounced
84:newspapers
546:5°11′27″E
470:U.S. Army
426:, Limburg
406:, Limburg
404:Smeermaas
353:container
247:End point
232:Geography
468:and the
438:and the
384:Wijnegem
311:) is a
394:History
372:Hasselt
337:Scheldt
325:Antwerp
317:Belgium
268:Hasselt
251:Antwerp
222: (
204:History
175:Hasselt
171:Antwerp
98:scholar
378:, and
296:French
188:Length
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495:Notes
484:Today
424:Kanne
333:Meuse
329:Liège
327:with
313:canal
279:Dutch
241:Liège
196:Locks
167:Liège
105:JSTOR
91:books
528:2015
364:Genk
273:The
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152:Geel
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169:to
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