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| Water Upon Water |
 Six years, 709 million dollars and 3011 feet long. Located in the city of Magdeburg, near Berlin, this channel-bridge over the River Elbe joins the former East and West Germany.
Europe's longest water bridge, it connects the inland harbor of Berlin to ports along the Rhine River. 26,455 tons of steel were used in its construction and 68,000 cubic meters of concrete.
Barges can avoid the lengthy and at times unreliable passage along the Elbe, where shipping often comes to a halt because of unacceptable water levels, by using the water bridge. "It's important to us to make the waterways attractive to industry as a safe and environmentally friendly transportation way," German Transportation Minister Manfred Stolpe told the Associated Press.
Plans for such a bridge have been worked on since as far back as 1919. By 1938, the Rothensee boat lift and bridge anchors were in place, however, World War II and the post-war division of Germany stalled the project until the German reunification and construction began again in 1997.
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