Veluwemeer Aqueduct, Netherlands

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We're halfway there. It's Halfway Day!

Today is Halfway Day, which means we are halfway through 2023! Halfway Day begins at noon on July 2 during a regular 365-day year, and at midnight on July 2 during a leap year—so this year, we're celebrating at lunchtime.

Dutch engineers don’t do things by halves. Pictured here is the Veluwemeer Aqueduct in the Netherlands. The project, completed in 2002, used an unusual engineering approach. Rather than a drawbridge or ferry to get cars over Lake Veluwemeer, engineers instead built this 'water bridge' to carry boats across the road. The N302 is a busy highway connecting the mainland to the province of Flevoland, and thanks to this design, both road and waterborne traffic can keep flowing freely. The aqueduct also has pedestrian crossings on both sides, so everyone benefits. No half measures were taken in designing an eye-catching transport solution that works for everyone.