Oranjesluizen

Coordinates

52 ° 22 '54 " N , 4 ° 57' 38" E Coordinates: 52 ° 22 '54 " N , 4 ° 57' 38" E

Country:

NL

Place:

Amsterdam

Waters:

North Sea Canal / Inland IJ

Data

Owner:

Rijkswaterstaat

Operator:

Rijkswaterstaat

Start of planning:

1865

Construction time:

1870

Start of operation:

1872

Renovation:

1997-2000

lock

Usable length:

67/90/200 m

Usable width:

14/18/24 m

Others

f1

The Oranjeschleusen ( Dutch Oranjesluizen - sluizen = plural of sluis) are a lock system in the Netherlands that connects the North Sea Canal and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal with the Markermeer northeast of the center of the capital Amsterdam . A total of four locks are available to enable barges to access the IJsselmeer and the Dutch Wadden Sea ( Waddenzee ). In addition to the locks in IJmuiden , the Oranjeschleusen help ensure that the water level in the North Sea Canal can be maintained and that too much salt water from the North Sea Canal does not get into the IJsselmeer. Rijkswaterstaat , the agency of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment for the construction and maintenance of roads and waterways, is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the lock system .

History of origin

approximate location of the Oranjeschleusen: dashed line on the right edge center above Paardenhoek

Aerial view of Orange Locks, 1940s

The Orange Locks were built as part of the construction of the North Sea Canal, which connects Amsterdam directly to the North Sea in a westerly direction . The canal became necessary because the historical access via the Zuiderzee silted up more and more and was an insurmountable obstacle for the ever larger ships.

The historic port of Amsterdam was east of the city center on the former IJ Bay , a tributary of the Zuiderzee. In order to decouple the canal with the harbor from the tidal action of the Zuiderzee, it was necessary to cordon off the IJ Bay east of the harbor between the south pier ( Zuiderhoofd ) in the north and the horse corner ( Paardenhoek ) in the south. When the concession was granted (1863), the approximately 300-meter-long IJ dam was supposed to have only one lock in order to continue to allow navigation between Amsterdam and the Zuidersee. Under pressure from the city and many Amsterdam boatmen, it was decided in 1868 to build a total of three locks. Between two locks with a length of 67 meters, a lock of 90 meters was to be built for the larger commercial shipping vessels. Double stem gates were provided as locking devices for the three lock chambers , so that the Zuiderzee could be locked at low and high tide . To reduce the lock losses, all three locks in the middle of the chambers were given additional flood gates. (P. 207) The lock gates had to be moved by hand-operated winches.

King Willem III laid the foundation stone for the lock construction on April 29, 1870, after having worked on the IJ dam for five years. During this ceremony, the facility was given the name Orange Locks , derived from the name of the Dutch royal family Orange ( Orange ). The Amsterdamsche-Kanaal-Maatschappij , which carried out the construction contract for the North Sea Canal, entrusted the hydraulic engineer Johannis de Rijke (1843–1913) with the supervision of the Oranjeschleusen. The establishment of the locks was carried out by 8,896 piles that rise 14 meters into the ground. The lock walls were made of masonry on the concrete base plate. The iron gates built in at the beginning did not prove their worth and were replaced by wooden ones. The jamb depth of the three locks was NAP -4.50 meters (NAP = Normaal Amsterdam Peil ). The first ship passed the locks on October 25th, 1872 - two years before the locks in IJmuiden were completed. (P. 210)

To remove excess water from the North Sea Canal, a passage with stem gates was built in the IJ dam next to the south lock, but it was only opened at low tide in the Zuidersee. To dissipate even at high tide the water was a pumping station ( Stoomwatermolen ) built, but which by due to lack of power pumping station ( Schepradstoomgemaal was replaced).

The dam with the locks divides the IJ into the Inner IJ and the Outer IJ, which is also called the IJmeer. The inland IJ is the 12 kilometers long eastern part of the North Sea Canal between the port of Amsterdam and the Orange Locks. The IJmeer to the east later became part of the Markermeer after the IJsselmeer was divided by the Markermeer dike . The village of Schellingwoude emerged on the north bank and the southern land area is now known as Zeeburgereiland . Directly on the Zeeburgereiland, the Merwede Canal has been branching off towards the south since 1892 , which was expanded after the Second World War and, as the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal, has been the shortest route to Germany and the Ruhr area for inland waterways since 1952 .

Prince Willem-Alexander lock

Orange locks with Prince Wilhelm-Alexander lock

Replacement sliding gate on the lock island

The increase in shipping traffic in the 1970s led to full utilization of the three locks, because ships sometimes had to wait up to five hours for a lock. Dangerous situations arose when ships wanted to enter the facility at the same time. The increase in ship lengths in commercial shipping also showed that the lock system was no longer sufficient. The idea of extending two of the three old locks to a length of 200 meters was rejected because an investment in the old system was considered too high. Therefore, in 1984 Rijkswaterstaat decided to build an additional lock with significantly larger dimensions.

Extensive preliminary investigations into the optimal location of the lock led to the construction of the three old locks south on the banks of the Zeeburgereiland. With the planned width, miter gates and lifting gates were discarded and sliding gates were chosen as locking devices that open horizontally into side gate chambers. The advantage of sliding gates is the bidirectional function of the barrier, which with mitred gates can only be achieved by doubling the gates. Instead of expensive trolleys on rails (roller gates), the sliding gates of the new lock run on a cushion of water that is formed under the gate under high pressure. This means that there are no moving parts under water. The jamb depth was set at NAP-5.20 meters, so that even at low water levels (max. Draft 3.70 meters), push convoys can pass the locks with sufficient distance above the ground. With the required flood protection height of NAP + 1.6o meters, the construction height of the gates had to be 6.80 meters, which means that the gates have a net weight of 190 tons. The lower part of the door is designed as an air-filled cavity in order to limit the operating weight of the door to 500 kN (corresponds to a mass of 50 tons) due to the buoyancy . For the water balance in the lock chamber, there are 12 pipe openings in each gate with a diameter of 1.3 meters, which are closed on both sides with large rectangular slides.

The opening of the new Prins Willem-Alexandersluis (PWA lock) took place in 1995. With a width of 24 meters, the lock may include a complete barge train with 2 + 2 European barges type IIa (single length of 76.50 meters) incl. Pushboat record. The system should have a service life of 100 years. The more heavily loaded lock gates are designed for 50 years and can be exchanged with the reserve gate (p. 265 / p. 267)

Renovation of the Orange Locks

View of the renovated lock walls

Up until 1995 only a few modernizations were carried out on the Orange Locks and only the most necessary maintenance work was carried out. Between 1940 and 1980 all gates were gradually replaced by steel gates or bongossi wood doors . The drives for the gates were partially equipped with electrically operated racks in quadrant shape instead of manual winches. In the 1960s, the intermediate gates were expanded in all three locks. As the dead gates hindered shipping and caused collisions, the intermediate areas were clad with wooden walls to compensate.

Until 1986, no replacement was held for the lock gates. But it was considered necessary to make a left and a right reserve gate for the larger central lock, which could be used universally in all positions. The gates of the two smaller locks were slightly different in their dimensions, so that the reserve gates delivered in 1992 had to be fitted with appropriate devices for adjustment. At the end of the 1980s, the gates were equipped with double-acting hydraulic cylinders. This enabled a new central control building for all three locks to be put into operation in 1989, so that the control stations on the lock islands could be dispensed with.

While the PWA lock was being built, alternatives for the future of the existing complex were investigated. A total renovation, a renovation of one or two of the three chambers or a complete shutdown were up for discussion. In no case could the new PWA lock serve as a replacement for the existing system. If the entire old facility were to be dismantled, a second large lock would be required immediately. This should also emphasize the cultural and historical value of the facility. The main purpose of the renovation was to extend the lifespan by 40 years so that the locks could operate smoothly until 2035.

The main renovation work took place between 1997 and 2000. The preliminary investigations showed that the pile foundation had to be partially replaced and reinforced. Then the soles and walls of the lock chambers could be renovated. All lock islands were raised to NAP + 2.50 m. By eliminating the ebb gates, the usable lengths of the lock chambers could be increased. A total of 12 new gates were made for the two small locks, which can be interchanged on the right and left. Four gates are reserve gates, which are locked in the niches of the old ebb gates on the east side. The slightly wider gates of the middle lock were handled accordingly, so that a total of 18 new gates were installed. All the sluice gate movement mechanisms are hydraulically driven and all gates can be locked in the closed position so that they can hold the water on both sides. Due to this new function, all bearings and anchors of the lock gates had to be reinforced and completely rebuilt in order to be able to move the new gates safely in all directions.

The flushing channel next to the south lock received a new lifting gate during the renovation, which is controlled from the headquarters in IJmuiden. Due to the higher water level in the Markermeer today, the canals of Amsterdam are flushed through this passage.

The most recent renovation work was completed in 2018. All 18 lock gates were dismantled one after the other and freshly preserved in IJmuiden in order to upgrade the system for further years.

Lock dimensions

Cargo ship in the lock

Name of the lock	Year of commissioning	Length old [meters]	Width [meters]	Drilling depth [meter]	Length today [meters]
Nordschleuse	1872	67	14th	4.50	72.8
Middle lock	1872	90	18th	4.50	95.2
South lock	1872	67	14th	4.50	72.8
Prince Willem-Alexander lock	1995		24	5.20	200

Source :

Around 120,000 ships and boats pass through the lock system every year. The new PWA lock is primarily available for commercial shipping. The pleasure craft and sailing boats mainly use the Nordschleuse. When there is a large crowd in summer, the middle lock is also used, which is otherwise used by the larger sailing ships and the smaller inland vessels.

For flood safety, the entire system is now at a height of NAP + 2.50 meters, with the gates only reaching up to NAP + 1.75 meters. The southern dike between the Oranjeschleusen and the old pumping station has a height of NAP +3.50 meters.

Drainage and fish passage

Fish passage in the former pumping station

The lock system is still of great importance for shipping and maintaining the water level in the North Sea Canal. In addition, the flushing lock between the south lock and the PWA lock enables the necessary flushing of the Amsterdam canals.

In addition to its function as a shipping canal, the system of the North Sea Canal and Amsterdam-Rhine Canal plays an important role in the water balance in the Netherlands. The canal system must, on the one hand, carry away the amount of water from the drainage of the lower lying parts of the country and, on the other hand, also the lock losses introduced during locks. For this purpose, there is a sewer structure ( Spuisluis ) and a pumping station ( Gemaal ) in IJmuiden , which together ensure that the canal water level does not rise too high. At the same time, the adjoining water boards ( Waterschapen ) are supplied with fresh water in the southern part in order to obtain drinking water and supply agriculture.

For fish, the IJ dam is a barrier against a free passage between the inner IJ and the outer IJ. The noises and eddies caused by the ship's propellers keep the fish from swimming through the locks. The rinsing sluice also obstructs the passage, as the water in it flows too quickly. In order to remedy this situation, Rijkswaterstaat has generally decided to allow the passage of dams for fish.

On the north side of the IJ dam, the middle of the three culverts at the former Stoomwatermolen was converted into a three meter wide fish passage in 1975 . A second fish passage was created at the former Schepradstoomgemaal , where one of the six culverts is used. With this the bilateral continuity of the IJ dam for fish is established (p. 311)

Environment and tourism

On both sides of the two lock systems are the outer harbors with tail units, at which the ships can be moored if one has to wait for the lock. You can get a view of the entire lock system from the Schellingwouder Bridge , which crosses the Outer IJ around 500 meters away. Three tail units under this 2-lane road bridge are helpful for safe navigation when driving through. The height of the passage is always sufficient for inland vessels used in commercial shipping. Ships with higher superstructures or sailing ships must use the northern passage, where the bridge construction is designed as a bascule bridge. Another way crossing for vehicles is further east on the highway A10, which runs through the Zeeburger tunnel.

With the renovation of the Oranjeschleusen, a tourist path was laid out over the entire complex so that you can cross the IJ dam on foot. Due to the design, the sliding gates of the PWA lock are wide enough to allow vehicles to pass through. For this purpose, all eastern gates at the Oranjeschleusen were built with a 90 centimeter wide walkway with a railing. This created a narrow, winding route over the various lock gates between Zeeburgereiland and Schellingwoude. Usually you have to wait for one or more ships at a lock.

On the Zeeburgerkant, the dam between the fish pass and the rinsing sluice, there is a small monument that was erected during the extensive renovation in the nineties. Between a few cores from the masonry of the lock walls hangs the old fog bell that was previously hung on the control building of the lock system.