Rhine-Rhône Canal

(also Rhône-Rhine Canal), a shipping canal in eastern France. The Rhine-Rhône Canal connects the Sâone River (a tributary of the Rhône) above Saint-Jean-de-Losne, at the end of the Burgundy Canal, with the Rhine at the city of Strasbourg. Constructed between 1784 and 1833, the canal has a number of branches. It has a total length of 320 km, and there are more than 150 locks, most of which are accessible to vessels with carrying capacities reaching 250–300 tons. The guaranteed depth is 1.8 m. Waterside electric traction has been installed between Mulhouse and Strasbourg; freight turnover in this section of the canal is more than 1 million tons a year. The Rhine-Rhône Canal is part of the transcontinental waterway that connects the North and Mediterranean seas. Reconstruction of the canal is planned before 1982.