The Delta Works is a massive public works project and monument to Dutch hydraulic engineering that spans the various rivers, inlets, and waterways that snake through the southwest of the country. On the Oostersheldekering stretch of the storm surge barrier system lies a museum that charts the history preceding and construction process behind the immense project. There we got to see the engineering and logistic challenges that went into the project and examine a portion of the flood barrier that continues to serve Zeeland and the Netherlands.

After the disastrous flood of 1953 the Dutch government immediately began work on a system of barriers with the North Sea to blunt the force of storm surges and better shield the low lying plains of the southwest from further catastrophe. Over a period of 40 years over 30 kilometers of storm barriers were erected between the North Sea and interior of Zeeland. Taking over six billion Euro to fund the project and millions more to maintain it, the network has successfully reduced the threat of a major flood in the area to 1 in 4000 years.

Construction of the Oostersheldedam began on the artificial island Neeltje Jans which was laid specifically to facilitate the creation of the flood barrier. On the ocean floor between Neeltje Jans and the neighboring land masses, large trenches were dug from the dirt and mud. A specialized boat then came in and inserted vibrating rods into the loose soil, settling the dirt and packing it down in preparation for the next stage. A specially designed boat with a roller beneath its prow then came in to lay down mats over the trench, both to support the solidification of the dirt underwater as well as provide a flat and sturdy foundation for the struts between the gates of the final barrier. These struts reached a height of 13 stories and were manufactured by teams of workers on land on Neeltje Jans in ditches below sea level. Working in rotating day and night shifts to expedite the process, 66 of these concrete and steel struts were ultimately fabricated in the work pits. When completed the pits were flooded and connected with the sea to be moved into place by yet another specialized boat, this time with a massive clamp to pick up and drag the struts into place.

Laid within a tolerance of just a few centimeters, the hollow bottoms of the struts were filled with sand and the sides at their bases packed with rocks imported from Germany and France to reinforce and cement the structures in place. Between each strut three major barriers were inserted: the variable surge control gate, the over (boven) barrier, and under (onder) barrier. The latter two were constructed out of concrete and permanently implanted above and below the main area of the control gates as their names would suggest. The control gates were made out of steel and attached to hydraulic pumps in attached buildings so the gates could raise and lower depending on the weather and tidal conditions. Operating similar to sluice gates, the Delta Works were constructed to prevent, or at least soften, the effects of storm surges opposed to the Zuiderzee works which focused more on land reclamation. The movement of the gates is important to allow local marine populations to continue to navigate the waterway, resulting in a total of only 32 gate closures since it opened in 1986.

What struck me most about the engineering process behind the Delta Works especially was the amount of construction techniques, ships, land, and other equipment that had to be designed, manufactured, and implemented specifically for the construction of the storm surge barriers. Beside the actual barrier portion of the project, public roads were laid across the struts to connect the Zeeland road network, introducing even more technology to pick up and move the prefabricated highway segments onto the structure. This all converges into an even starker focus when considering the timeline in which the barrier network was assembled. The first portion of the network, the Algerakering, began development in 1954, just after the flood; it was completed only four years later becoming fully operational in 1958, and that is including the time it took to devise and construct the various tools needed to take on this endeavor. With the demand from the Dutch populace and risk of another 1953, however, the brains and brawn behind the Delta Works project were willing to do whatever was necessary to complete the project and protect the land and lives of their fellow countrymen.

Returning to InHolland, though this time to their campus here in Rotterdam, we’ll get a chance to explore a different side and program within the university. Wrapping up with our final company visits on Thursday we look forward to our departure from the Netherlands with both melancholy and relief, excited for a chance to relax but also sad to leave behind this wonderful country we’ve barely gotten the chance to know. Until then, Plus3.

– Duncan Dockstader