The construction of the Fontinettes lift took place between 1881 and 1887, with an inauguration on July 8, 1888. The role of this extraordinary work was essential. In order to develop river traffic on the Neufossé canal, this hydraulic lift had to replace a series of 5 locks in order to overcome a drop of 13,13 meters. Note that the Neufossé canal, made navigable in the XNUMXth century, was a strategic axis for local trade. It linked the Aa canal and the Lys canal and, through this junction, linked Lille to the North Sea (Lille-Dunkirk).
It should be noted that the alternating traffic of barges uphill and downhill using the lock ladder was becoming too slow in a rapidly accelerating world. Due to traffic jams, it was sometimes necessary to wait several days to get on and off, and these operations took an hour and a half and an hour and ten minutes respectively.
A solution was found: the construction of a boat lift inspired by Anderton's work in England. A high-tech system for the time, built a few years earlier. To do this, the specialist engineer in the field, Edwin Clark, collaborated with the Ponts et Chaussées, the Cail establishments for the metal parts and the architect Georges Penin.
The inauguration
The boat lift was inaugurated with great fanfare in 1888. A revolutionary work, it stirred passions throughout France!
The deputy of Pas-de-Calais Alexandre Ribot, attended the event in the front row. As a visionary, he congratulated the technological prowess during his speech… while stressing that 100 years later, it would be very likely that the work would be replaced by something more efficient. History will prove him right. Indeed, the Fontinettes lift will be supplanted by a high-fall lock 80 years later!
The old scale of 5 locks
During the 80 years of operation of the Fontinettes lift, the lock ladder has been kept for use during lift maintenance periods. This installation was not destroyed until 1963, a few years before the shutdown of the hydraulic lift.
The end of the Fontinettes lift
In the 60s, it was clear that the Fontinettes lift had had its day.
Progress allowed new feats and the cost of maintaining facilities became prohibitive. Above all, the canal passed to the upper gauge during these years. Since the Freycinet gauge, the barges had grown a lot!
To replace the lift, a large lock (with high head) was built upstream, at the location of the lock ladder. The aptly named "Fontinettes lock", put into service on August 16, 1967, proved to be much more efficient. It makes it possible to cross the drop of 13,13 meters in about twenty minutes and to pass six barges of the Freycinet type in a single passage, compared to two for the lift.
