Central Canal Towpath

The Central Canal Aqueduct
over Fall Creek in Indianapolis

by Charles B. Huppert, Canal Society of Indiana, January 2001
Photos by Tom Olsen, Summer 2000

Construction on the Central Canal began in 1836 and two years later the Fall Creek Aqueduct was completed. It looked nothing like today's. The current aqueduct, though in the same place as the original, is the fifth aqueduct constructed to allow water in the Central Canal to pass over the water in the creek below. It is located just south of the Burdsal Parkway where it crosses the Canal, about 1100 West.

This aqueduct was built in 1904-1905 after a flood had washed away its predecessor. This bridge for water, not motor vehicles or railways, is built of concrete. It consists of four 60 foot arches of the open spandrel type. The arches rest on concrete piers and abutments. The entire aqueduct with its approaches is 330 feet long and 36 feet wide. A trunk or trough holds the water which passes over the creek and is about six feet deep. The trunk holds about 5 million gallons of water or about 20 tons worth. Up to 200 million gallons of water pass across this bridge every day.

The 1838 aqueduct consisted of only one span. It was made entirely of wood including the abutments. The abutments were actually wooden boxes called cribs which were filled with rocks and stones to give stability. The second aqueduct was built in 1870 and had two wooden spans. The wooden abutments were replaced with stones ones. The central pier was also constructed of stone. The third aqueduct was built in 1882, shortly after the current Indianapolis Water Company was formed. The Water Company owned the Central Canal at that time and was using Canal water to power turbines which pumped well water to its subscribers. The 1882 aqueduct was built of both iron and wood. The fourth aqueduct was built in 1890 of iron. It was a Pratt through truss bridge and had a wooden trunk. Many spillways allowed for excess canal water to spill through the trunk and into the creek below. The water spilling from the trunk formed a curtain of water below the aqueduct.

It is difficult to view this magnificent aqueduct today because of the foliage and restrictions imposed for safety purposes. Hopefully, the Fall Creek Greenway project will be designed to permit the path to be placed so the aqueduct may be viewed by the public.