Innovative dike upgrading by Boskalis

Climate change causes more extreme weather conditions that make the low-lying Netherlands increasingly vulnerable to flooding. Dikes are therefore crucial to protect the country.

A great example of this is the centuries-old dike around the Markermeer Lake, which is more than 30 kilometers long. Labeled as cultural heritage, this dike needed to be strengthened to meet the Dutch standards for flood risk management.

It protects about 1.2 million people that live behind it – a large part of the city of Amsterdam and many villages are located directly behind the dike – as well as some 25 billion euros of economic assets.

Currently Boskalis’ spreader pontoon Medusa is reinforcing the world-famous Dike in Volendam and the company is working in many other places along the Markermeer Lake.

In addition to future-proofing the old dike, Boskalis is taking the opportunity to add recreational facilities, such as the creation of a beach near Hoorn and the construction of a cycling route across the dike towards Amsterdam.

At the same time biodiversity is stimulated by developing a nature area on the lakeside dike and creating dens for ring snakes in the rock revetment of the dike at thirty locations.

Read more about this fascinating project in Boskalis online magazine.