Built between 1881 and 1893, the Corinth Canal is considered a great technical achievement for its time.
Ships can only pass through the canal one at a time on a one-way system.
Larger ships have to be towed by tugs.
The canal is nowadays mostly used by tourist ships, with 11,000 ships using the canal every year.
The bridge lowers the bridge deck 8 meters below water level to permit waterborne traffic to use the waterway.
This is particularly important for sailing vessels.
Additionally, the lack of an above-deck structure is considered aesthetically pleasing.
However, the presence of the submerged bridge structure limits the draft of vessels in the waterway.
