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How did the Roman canal built by Corbulo help ships avoid the North Sea?

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View of Utrecht's Oude Gracht canal lined with historic brick buildings, arched doorways at water level, and boats moored along the canal edge in the Netherlands. — canals and inland waterways The *Oudegracht* (Old Canal), Utrecht, Netherlands.

The Roman general Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo constructed a 37-km (23-mile) canal that linked the Rhine and Meuse rivers. By providing this inland connection, the canal allowed ships to travel between Germany and the coast while avoiding the dangerous and stormy passage across the North Sea.1