The Netherlands has been tackling the challenges of water for centuries. This is especially true for areas along the North Sea coast, which Boskalis reinforces year-round through various replenishment projects, but the challenge is no different in the inland river regions.
“ Heavy rainfall can overwhelm the Meuse River, causing it to flood within just a few hours. In such cases, the river’s floodplains serve as vital collection zones for excess water ,” Boskalis said. It is precisely in these floodplains and dikes that Boskalis Nederland has recently started work on the Meandering Meuse project, part of the national Flood Protection Program. This program aims to prevent flooding by strengthening more than 1,400 kilometers of dikes as well as 400 locks and pumping stations.
Using (partly) electric equipment, the dike along the well-known river between the villages of Ravenstein and Lith will be reinforced over a length of 26 kilometers. In addition, more than 375 hectares of nature will be developed. A unique aspect of the project is that the hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of clay excavated from the floodplain will be partially reused in the dike reinforcement. The remaining part is also reused and given a second life as bricks or roof tiles in the ceramics industry.