Blisworth Tunnel was the only section unfinished. This was despite the tunnel having been under construction for seven years: the gap was filled by a temporary horse-drawn tramway over the top of the hill, with goods being transported from boat to wagon and back again. The tramway, built in 1801, was Northamptonshire's first railway. In March 1805, the tunnel was finally opened and the rails were used to connect the main line of the canal to the River Nene until the branch canal to Northampton was constructed. Until the 1870s travel through the tunnel was only achieved by men lying on their
Cincinnati and Whitewater Canal Tunnel canal tunnel near the village of North Bend, which was finished six years before the canal opened for business. This tunnel was needed because of a steep ridgeline on the village's northern side, separating it from Cleves, on land owned by retired war hero William Henry Harrison, who as one of the canal's proponents was happy to sell land for its right-of-way and to supply wood and bricks for the tunnel. After his ascension to the presidency and sudden death, Harrison was buried atop the ridgeline near the tunnel's southern portal. Lined with brick, the tunnel includes ashlar stonework portals