Obvodny Canal
Location
Country	Russia
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Neva
• coordinates	59°55′11″N 30°23′55″E / 59.9198°N 30.3985°E / 59.9198; 30.3985
Mouth
• location	Ekaterinhofka
• coordinates	59°54′33″N 30°15′38″E / 59.9093°N 30.2606°E / 59.9093; 30.2606
Length	8.08 km (5.02 mi)

Obvodny Canal (Russian: Обводный канал, lit. Bypass Canal) is the longest canal in Saint Petersburg, Russia, which in the 19th century served as the southern limit of the city. It is 8 kilometres (5 mi) long and flows from the Neva River near Alexander Nevsky Lavra to the Yekaterinhofka not far from the sea port. The canal was dug in 1769–1780 and 1805–1833. By the late 19th century, after to the Industrial Revolution, it had effectively become a sewer collecting wastewater of adjacent industrial enterprises. Eventually the canal became shallow and no longer navigable. The banks of the canal are lined with granite.

History

Construction

The channel was dug in 1769–1780s by an engineer L. K. Carbonnier, its course went from the Yekaterinhofka River to the Ligovsky Canal. Initially the Obvodny Canal had a bulwark on the city side.

On December 23, 1804, the construction of the eastern part was started by Ivan Gerard. The city annually allotted 1 mln 230 thousand roubles for the project. The works continued in 1816–1833, managed by Paul Clapeyron and Pierre-Dominique Bazaine. By 1834 the Obvodny Canal turned into the south city borderline, more than 10 km long and 20 m wide.

The French Basin

In the 1840s the L-shaped channel was constructed to allow vessel unloading and moorage. The new French Basin started from the Obvodny Canal near the Alexander Nevsky Lavra and turned West from Glinyanaya street. To allow moorage the Obvodny Canal significantly widened here. The resulted basin is sometimes marked as the "Obvodny Canal basin". The peninsula between the channel and the French Basin used to have railroads from the end of the 19th up to mid 20th century.

19th century

From the second part of the century the areas around the Obvodny Canal became an industrial district, as a result the channel became an open wastewater sewer. Still it continued to serve as a cheap and convenient throughway for cargo transportation. In the mid 19th century two railroad stations (Varshavsky and Baltiysky) were opened nearby.

Current state

Nowadays the channel is very shallow; navigation is allowed only for small crafts. It is no longer an important waterway, but its embankments turned into major city routes. The channel is crossed by 15 automobile, 6 pedestrian and 1 railroad bridges. Several redevelopment projects are initiated to bring new life into the former industrial buildings.

v t e Water system of Ligovsky Canal
Legend
Dudergofskoye lake Dudergofka River 1718-1721 To Moskovskoye s. Three highways interchange Ring Road To Bronka Three highways interchange Dachnaya street Three highways interchange Diameter To sea port terminal To Predportovaya To Ulyanka, Ligovo To Predportovaya To Leninsky Prospekt To Predportovaya To Leninsky Prospekt To Konstitutsii square Leninsky Pr. To Leninsky Metro Krasnenkaya River To Konstitutsii square Krasnoputilovskaya To Avtovo Moscow Gate Square Moskovsky Avenue Tsarskoselskaya Railway Kubinskaya Street Obvodny Y. V. Aqueduct Aviatorov Pound Znamenskya Square Nevsky Prospect Ponds Fontanka Panteleymonovsky Aqueduct Fountains of the Summer Garden Ponds in Tauride Garden Steam pump Water inlet 1720s Neva Moyka