The Corinth Canal connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea by cutting through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth that separates the Peloponnese from the Greek mainland. It is 6.4 km in length and only 21.4 meters wide at its base. Mooted in classical times, an abortive effort was made to build it in the 1^st century AD, but construction finally got under way in 1881, however the original builders went bankrupt after being hampered by geological and financial problems. It was finally completed in 1893 but due to its landslides and narrowness it failed to attract the level of traffic that had been hoped for.