Veluwemeer Aqueduct

The Veluwemeer is the narrow strip of water left between the old mainland coast and the Flevoland polder, and the N302 crosses it between Harderwijk and Zeewolde. The lake is a busy recreational sailing route and a bridge high enough for masts would have needed long approach ramps across flat ground, so the solution, opened in 2003, was the reverse: the road dips into a short tunnel and the water is carried over it in a shallow aqueduct about twenty-five metres long, nineteen wide and three metres deep, so boats sail over the cars. It is not the only aqueduct in the country - the Netherlands has built a number, and this is one of the more visible - but it is the one that gets photographed, because the water is close enough over the road that you see the hulls. There is a viewing point beside the road and a footpath alongside.

Highlights

• Boats over cars - the lake carried across the road in a shallow aqueduct.
• A road that dips - the tunnel used instead of a bridge to avoid long ramps.
• Twenty-five metres of water - three metres deep over the traffic.
• A viewing point - beside the road, with a footpath alongside.

When to go

April to October. An hour.

Practical notes

It is one piece of infrastructure and takes twenty minutes, best combined with something else. Boat traffic is heaviest in summer weekends and thin otherwise. Parking at the viewpoint is limited.

Nearby

Harderwijk and the Dolfinarium are south; Flevoland is north.

Key facts