Juliana Canal
| Juliana Canal | |
|---|---|
| location | Netherlands , Limburg |
| length | about 36 km |
| Built | 1925-1935 |
| class | Inland vessel class Va ( large Rhine ship , pushed convoy with a barge ) |
| Beginning | Limmel near Maastricht , Maas |
| The End | Maasbracht , Maas |
| Descent structures | Limmel Born Maasbracht |
| Ports | Bays at Born Stein Maasbracht Maastricht (Beatrixhaven) |
| Used river | Meuse |
| Responsible WSD | Rijkswaterstaat |
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The Julianakanal (Dutch spelling: Julianakanaal ) is an artificially created waterway in the Dutch province of Limburg . The approximately 36 km long canal runs between Limmel near Maastricht and Maasbracht in the municipality of Maasgouw, practically parallel to a part of the Maas that has not been navigable since 1822 , the so-called Grenzmaas, so it is a so-called side canal .
description
From Borgharen near Maastricht to just before Maasbracht, the Meuse forms the state border between the Netherlands and Belgium. The Grenzmaas is not navigable. To remove this traffic obstacle, the Julianakanal was built between 1925 and 1935 .
The canal has three locks in Limmel, Born and Maasbracht to cope with the height difference of 23.60 m on the entire route . The lock in Maasbracht, with a drop height of 11.85 meters, is the Dutch lock with the greatest height difference to be negotiated.
Another, fourth lock level existed at Roosteren until 1965 . Modifications to the locks in Born and Maasbracht and a widening of the canal between Born and Maasbracht while increasing the dikes allowed the lock at Roosteren to be razed.
The water level of the canal is in part considerably above the general terrain level of the areas crossed. In Elsloo , the canal runs through the old town center and over 40 houses had to give way.
history
As early as 1908, considerations were made to create a waterway between Maasbracht and Maastricht by channeling the Meuse itself between Maastricht and Maasbracht. However, since Belgium did not agree to the project and six locks would have been required, plans in this regard were discarded. It turned out to be more feasible to build a completely new waterway between Maastricht and Maasbracht near the Maas. The decision to build it took place in 1921, Princess Juliana broke ground on October 23, 1925. Princess Juliana in turn formally opened the artificial waterway to traffic on September 16, 1935.
On January 27, 2004, the channel hit the headlines. A pressurized water pipe from the construction time of the waterway had leaked and had washed under the dike near the village of Stein. There was a risk of the dam breaking and flooding the village.
In the course of expanding the Maas for larger inland vessels, an expansion of the waterway is also planned. The reconstruction measures planned for the period from the end of 2010 to 2017 should make it possible for ships 190 m long and 11.4 m wide with a draft of 3.5 m, and thus also a push convoy with two barges , to be able to navigate the Julianakanal . To do this, the canal has to be widened by up to 15 m in places and the water level increased by 25 cm.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Website of the Rijkswaterstaats with information about the canal, accessed on July 8, 2011 (in Dutch) ( Memento from August 10, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ inventaris.onroerenderfgoed.be
- ^ Website about Maasbracht, accessed on July 15, 2011 (in Dutch) ( Memento of May 24, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ "Channels in the Netherlands" website on the Julianakanal, accessed on July 6, 2011 (in Dutch) ( Memento from January 13, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Website of the Rijkswaterstaats on the expansion of the canal, accessed on July 6, 2011 (in Dutch) ( Memento from June 5, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
Coordinates: 51 ° 0 '50.76 " N , 5 ° 47' 0.96" O