Oosterschelde storm surge barrier

Measuring nearly eight kilometers in length, the Oosterscheldekering barrier is a special dam
that connects the Zeeland islands of Schouwen-Duiveland and Noord-Beveland. This part of the
Delta Works was built to protect the Zeeland region from the sea after the North Sea Flood in
1953.
Protecting the environment
The Oosterscheldekering storm surge barrier is a unique and internationally acclaimed flood
protection project. The original plans called for a closed dam. This led to a lot of objections
because the water behind the dam would have lost its salinity and salt water fish and plants
would have disappeared.
Moveable barrier
That is why a barrier was designed that could be closed in emergencies. The moveable part is
nearly three kilometers long divided over three sluice gate-type openings. Colossal piles support
doors that move up and down to open and close the barrier. All in all it is a beautiful example of
Dutch hydraulic engineering that is definitely worth a visit.




Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier
The Oosterscheldekering in Nederland or Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier in English,
Its located between Schouwen-Duiveland and Noord-Beveland, whose size is considered such as
the most great of the 13 Delta work's series of dams and storm surge barriers, which was designed
for protect the Netherlands from flooding of the North Sea.
It was the most difficult to build and the most expensive part of the Delta works series, whose
time of build was a decade. The construction started in April 1976 and was completed in June
1986. To facilite the building, an artificial island, which name is 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 tourists and as a base for maintenance works.
The dam is based on 65 concrete pillars with 62 steel doors, each 42 meters wide, which were
constructed in a dry dock. The area was flooded and small fleet of special construction ships set up
the pillars and places them in their final positions. Each pillar is between approximately 35 and
38.75 meters high and weighs 18000 tons. The Dam was designed to last more than 2000 years.

The dam is manually operated but if human control fails, an electronic security system acts as
a backup.
The Dam is sometime called as the eighth wonder of the world. It has been declared one of the
modern seven wonder of the world.