Grand Vandarch Canal

History
From the Carolina Grand Canal's opening in 1880 until the Grand Vandrach Canal's opening in 1975, the nations along the Carolina Grand Canal enjoyed a monopoly on maritime shipping to the landlocked countries, and major port cities of the Vandrach. Because it was controlled by and run through the Holy Levantine Empire's countries of Urcea, Kronenia, and Hollona and Diorisia it gave the Empire, and Urcea specifically, a disproportionate level of economic power in that region. The beginning of the Grand Vandrach Canal followed the formal dissolution of the Holy Levantine Empire, the end of the Great War, and by extension the reduction of southern Levantia's crushing hold on much of the continent. It was celebrated by all northern Levantine nations, at the time, as a demonstration of modern, self-determinist northern Levantia. In southern Levantia it was met with mixed reviews. Nations along the Carolina Grand Canal were obviously not pleased to have their monopoly broken and the loss of considerable revenues in the form of passage fees and taxes. While it was loudly protested in Urcea for this reason, the economic loses would be stymying in Kronenia, and Hollona and Diorisia, who had faired far worse in the Great War and whose economies were not big enough to absorb the blow like Urcea's.

The Grand Vandrach Canal was designed by X in the waning years of the Great War as there was a growing fear of populist uprisings at the conclusion of the war if soldiers came home to high unemployment rates. Many countries looked to titanic infrastructure projects as a way to, at least temporarily, give thousands of jobs to the returning service men. The Ostmark region of Prevalis. It was an underdeveloped border region between, but more importantly through it spanned the the narrowest part of the isthmus on the northern bank of the Vandrach. Following the inconclusive end of the Great War the newly formed League of Nations (LoN)sought proposals for peacetime efforts to bond nations together. In 1958 X's canal design was selected by the Committee for Global Prosperity and Improvement, an ad hoc committee that had been established to select projects in the immediate post-war period. It was put to a vote in the League of Nations General Assembly on the final agenda before the winter recess and passed by a narrow majority. There was some minor resistance from Urcea and the delegation from the Deric States. They had expected support from their close allies in Burgundie, hoping to vote as a newly formed Levantine Union bloc. Burgundie saw this as an opportunity to extend good will to northern Levantine countries with whom they sought trade deals. Seen as a another example of Burgundie putting commerce ahead of a southern Levantine solidarity it strained the Levantine Union almost to the breaking point. Caphiria and its allies voted in favor of the resolution to reduce Urcea's power in northern Levantia. The northern Levantine countries voted in favor of the resolution to celebrate their new agency and for economic gains. Kiravia voted in favor of the resolution to gain direct access to the heart of the Levantine economy. The remaining of the members of the LoN voted in in about a 50/50 split, leaving the yays to take the day.

The construction contract was eventually given to Ladvner Construction who subcontracted much of the work out to the O'Shea Corporation. Ladvner would oversee strategic control, materials ordering, and hiring. O'Shea would conduct the day to day construction, receiving, and would be retained as the operations administration for 10 years after the completion of the canal, training the next generation of administrators. The canal was projected to hire, employ, house, and feed 15,000 workers and their families over the span of 10 years. Smaller, local construction companies from Pervalis and Faneria were hired to build worker housing and commissaries along the canal route and the rail lines of both countries were contracted to extend to the canal zone to expedite worker travel and the shipment of materials.

This grand vision was almost immediately halted when in 1960 after only three months of preliminary construction, funding became and issue. Member states who had pledged funding to the Committee for Global Prosperity and Improvement's projects balked when the time came due to actually pay. The international effort ground to a halt despite local housing and rail line construction continuing.

2019 Faucilh Sageta Obstruction
In the summer of 2019 the Bulkhan flagged vessel, operated by Sempre Lines LLC, a subsidiary of the Burgundian North Levantine Trading Company, grounded in the Grand Vandrach Canal. The 400 m (1,312 ft 4 in) container ship was the first of its class and the largest ever to pass through the canal system.

Alternative Routes
The Carolina Grand Canal is the only other waterway that connects the Vandrach to the international waterways and its shipping lanes.