The Somme Canal which provides the connection between the Canal du Nord and the Saint-Quentin Canal is the missing link in the river roaming of the tourist waterways of the national network and in the river roaming, in particular with the V30 cycle route which connects Saint-Valery-sur-Somme to Reims. With a length of 16.5 km (including 5 km located in Aisne), this section includes four locks (Saint-Simon, Upper Ham, Lower Ham and Offoy) as well as three lock houses.
The re-establishment of navigation and the developments that will accompany it are eagerly awaited in the East of the Somme and Saint-Quentinois. They will ultimately make it possible to connect Saint-Quentin (in Aisne) to Saint-Valery sur-Somme, by boat, by bike or on foot. Closed to navigation for more than twenty years for safety reasons, this section is the subject of major work undertaken by the Somme Department since spring 2023. The end of the work is planned for 2026-2027.
The overall project, now estimated at 14 million euros, is financed by the Somme Departmental Council. It benefits from the support of Voies navigables de France, the State, the Hauts-de-France Region through the State-Region Plan Contract 2021-2027, as well as the Artois Picardie Water Agency in the framework for the restoration and diversification of habitats. The partnership initiated as part of the “Somme Valley, Ideal Valley” approach aims to make this project the support for new development in the East of the Somme.
Resumption of work until February 2025
In September, the Department began a new phase of work for a period of six months. This work will consist of modernizing the operating devices of four locks, automating the hydraulic regulation system, rehabilitating the haulage platform between Voyennes and Eppeville, rehabilitating the banks, on the haulage side, between Offoy and Eppeville, creating the foundation layer of the future Véloroute between Béthencourt and Eppeville and finally level the shoulders of the future Véloroute in topsoil. This work is estimated at 3.4 million euros.
« The Department is keeping its commitments and carrying out a large-scale project expected in the East. This is an exceptional opportunity to ultimately invite Samarians and our visitors to discover the East of the Somme via a new section via Ham, but also to develop uses around the Somme canal. With my fellow vice-presidents Brigitte Lhomme, in charge of structuring projects, and Hubert de Jenlisin charge of infrastructure and departmental buildings, we are actively working to better connect this sector to the Ideal Valley”assures Stéphane Haussoulier, president of the Somme departmental council
Make Ham a stopover with a high level of service
The crossing of Ham, and more particularly the sector between the two locks (Upper Ham and Lower Ham), with the sports facilities to the south and the recently redeveloped town center to the north, will be the subject of a preliminary study. operational entrusted to the local public company (SPL) Vallée Idéal Développement. It will focus on the programming of additional developments and new services for users, in partnership with the municipality and the community of municipalities of the East of the Somme.
The objective will be to strengthen the place of the river in the city and to support the renewal of Ham’s identity, in order to give it an important place in the “ideal route” proposed along the canal and the Véloroute. In parallel with the work, a users’ committee, made up of local elected officials and associations, was created by the Department in order to discuss the different uses and services that could be put in place in view of the reopening to navigation. and the opening of the Véloroute Vallée de Somme.
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