Alexandria Aqueduct Ruins

The Alexandria Aqueduct, which was also known as the Potomac Aqueduct, was built between 1833 and 1843, and was designed to connect the C&O Canal to the Alexandria seaport to support the passage of canal boats to their destination  some seven miles away.

The aqueduct was temporarily converted into a roadway in 1861 during the Civil War, only to be reconstructed as an aqueduct with a toll booth above. At one point, the bridge included an iron truss that supported a roadway and an electric trolley line.

By 1923, steam powered tugboats and other technological advances had rendered the passage for canal boats obsolete. On January 17th that year, an impressive new span named for “Star Spangled Banner” composer Francis Scott Key opened and the Alexandria Aqueduct was ordered closed, though ten years would pass before the old structure was razed.

Demolition began in 1933, with the whole superstructure and the above ground portions of the piers being the first parts to go. The pier bases were left in place in order to protect the Key Bridge from damage due to ice floes.

In 1962, seven of the eight Aqueduct Bridge piers were removed with one left standing as a historical marker. The pier pilings were dynamited out to a depth of 12 feet.

Today, the bridge’s Washington abutment and a remnant of the Virginia abutment still exist. The southern arch of the Washington abutment is still there as well and stands as a monument to the great aqueduct that once covered this span.