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Concept
Maeslantkering
Summary
The Maeslantkering ("Maeslant barrier" in Dutch) is a storm surge barrier on the Nieuwe Waterweg, in South Holland, Netherlands. It was constructed from 1991 to 1997. As part of the Delta Works the barrier responds to water level predictions calculated by a centralized computer system called BOS. It automatically closes when Rotterdam (especially the Port of Rotterdam) is threatened by floods.
Maeslantkering has two 210-metre long barrier gates, with two 237-metre long steel trusses holding them. When closed, the barrier will protect the entire width (360 metres) of the Nieuwe Waterweg, the main waterway of Port of Rotterdam. It is one of the largest moving structures on Earth, rivalling the Green Bank Telescope in the United States and the Bagger 288 excavator in Germany.
The construction of the Maeslantkering was a part of the Europoortkering project which, in turn, was the final stage of the Delta Works. The main objective of this Europoortkering-project was to improve the safety against flooding of the Rotterdam harbour, of which the Europoort is an important part, and the surrounding towns and agricultural areas. To achieve this, the initial plan was to reinforce existing dikes as far as 50 kilometres inland. During the 1980s, it became clear that this project would take at least 30 years and would cost a huge amount of money. It would also mean that historic town centres, in some cases over four centuries old, would have to be broken down and rebuilt behind renewed, larger dikes.
Therefore, the initial plan was put aside and the Ministry of Waterways and Public Works organised a competition in which construction companies could make plans for the construction of a reliable yet relatively cheap storm surge barrier.
This storm surge barrier had to be located in the waterway (Nieuwe Maas – the Scheur – Nieuwe Waterweg) that connects Rotterdam with the North Sea. This played an important role in the planning stage of the construction, as this waterway is the main route to the port of Rotterdam, at that time the world's largest port.
Official source
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