World's Biggest And Unique Movable Storm Barrier [Dutch Hydraulic Engineering]

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To Protect The Environment

A beautiful example of Dutch hydraulic engineering that is definitely worth a visit.

The Oosterscheldekering storm surge barrier is a unique and internationally acclaimed flood protection project.

The Oosterscheldekering barrier is a special dam that connects the 2 small islands. This part of the Delta Works was built to protect the Zeeland region from the sea after the North Sea Flood in 1953.

Movable Barrier
That is why a barrier was designed that could be closed in emergencies. The moveable part is nearly three kilometres long divided over three sluice gate-type openings.
Colossal piles support doors that move up and down to open and close the barrier.

The Oosterscheldekering (Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier) between the islands Schouwen-Duiveland and Noord-Beveland, is the largest of the thirteen ambitious Delta Works series of dams and storm surge barriers, designed to protect the Netherlands from flooding from the North Sea. The construction of the Delta Works was a response to the widespread damage and loss of life in the North Sea flood of 1953.

The longest dam in the Delta Works, the 9 kilometers long Oosterscheldekering (kering meaning barrier) was initially designed and partly built as a closed dam but after public protests, huge sluice-gate-type doors were installed in the remaining 3 kilometers. These doors are normally open but can be closed under adverse weather conditions. In this way, the saltwater marine life behind the dam is preserved and fishing can continue while the land behind the dam is safe from the water.

Construction
The Oosterscheldekering was the most difficult to build and most expensive part of the Delta works. Work on the dam took more than a decade. It was constructed by a consortium of contractors comprising Ballast Nedam, Boskalis Westminster, Baggermaatschappij Breejenhout, Hollandse Aanneming Maatschappij, Hollandse Beton Maatschappij, Van Oord-Utrecht, Stevin Baggeren, Stevin Beton en Waterbouw, Adriaan Volker Baggermaatschappij, Adriaan Volker Beton en Waterbouw and Aannemerscombinatie Zinkwerken.
Construction started in April 1976 and was completed in June 1986. The road over the dam was ready for use in November 1987.
The road was opened by the former queen, Princess Juliana on 5 November 1987, exactly 457 years after the St Felix Day’s flood of 1530 which had washed away a large chunk of Zeeland upstream of the new barrier’s position.
To facilitate the building, an artificial island, Neeltje-Jans, was created in the middle of the estuary. When the construction was finished, the island was rebuilt to be used as education center for visitors and as a base for maintenance works.
The dam is based on 65 concrete pillars with 62 steel doors, each 42 meters wide. The parts were constructed in a dry dock. The area was flooded and a small fleet of special construction ships lifted the pillars and placed them in their final positions. Each pillar is between 35 and 38.75 meters high and weighs 18000 tonnes. The dam is designed to last more than 200 years.
The Oosterscheldekering is sometimes referred to as the eighth Wonder of the World. It has been declared one of the modern Seven Wonders of the World by the American Society of Civil Engineers.