Boskalis reinforces dike between Zwolle and Olst

For the past six years, calculations, drawings and plans have been prepared to reinforce the 30-kilometer-long dike between the city of Zwolle and the town of Olst in the Netherlands, Boskalis said.

Starting this year, the Boskalis Nederland project teams also began the physical work, with the official kick-off with all stakeholders taking place this week. Over the next eight years, they will be working on the project – a key component of the Dutch national Flood Protection Program – using excavators, trucks, shovels, bulldozers and rollers.

A large number of these machines are electric and can be charged on-site using battery containers, Boskalis added.

“A total of approximately 3 million cubic meters of soil will be needed to reinforce the dike. Much of this material will be extracted from the project area and reused in the new dike,” Boskalis said.

In addition, sheet piles and vertical sand-proof geotextile (VZG) will be applied to help counteract piping, a failure mechanism in which water flows underneath the dike and carries sand with it.