Editing Zuid-Willemsvaart (section)

=== Plans ===
Previous to the construction of the Zuid-Willemsvaart, there were many plans for making a canal from 's-Hertogenbosch towards the Belgian border. Most of these centered on canalizing the [[Aa (Meuse)|Aa]], the stream bed of which is closely followed by the Zuid-Willemsvaart for most of its route. The geographical proximity to the Aa indicates a relation between these older plans and the construction of the Zuid-Willemsvaart, but the relation is only in the suitability of the [[drainage basin]] of the Aa for digging most of the Zuid-Willemsvaart.

When the [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands]] was founded in 1815, its commercial center was formed by the harbors in the west, but its industrial center was near [[Liège]]. Communication between the two over the Meuse was difficult until the funds to create a canal became available. The Zuid-Willemsvaart was planned as a shortcut of the [[river]] [[Meuse]] between the cities of [[Maastricht]] and [['s-Hertogenbosch]]. It shortened the distance of shipping traffic from 233&nbsp;km to 122&nbsp;km, but that was not a primary goal of constructing the canal. The canal was dug with little regard for connecting local communities.

The problem of the Meuse river was the relatively big height difference upwards of Venlo. This was 34&nbsp;cm/km, or three times that of the Rhine near Emmerich. It caused that in summer there was often too little water in the Meuse for shipping. And in the winter there was often so much water that navigation became dangerous. Towing ships or barges upriver was difficult in all seasons. A canal that cut corners and went through a more flat terrain would be a far more reliable waterway. It would always have enough water and would allow easy transport upstream.{{sfn|Anonymous|1859|p=4}}