Meiderich lock

Lower main tower of the lock

location

Coordinates

51 ° 27 '4 " N , 6 ° 46' 32" E Coordinates: 51 ° 27 '4 " N , 6 ° 46' 32" E

Country:

Germany / North Rhine-Westphalia

Place:

Duisburg - Meiderich

Waters:

Rhine-Herne Canal

Water kilometers :

km 0.72 - 0.91

Data

Responsible WSA :

WSA DU-Meiderich

Construction time:

1978-1980

lock

Type:

Chamber lock

Category:

Vb

Usable length:

190.00 m

Usable width:

11.89 m

Height upstream :

25 m above sea level NHN

Average
height of fall :

7.35 m

Upper gate:

Lifting sector

Lower gate:

two-part lifting gate

Others

Website:

Page to the WSA

The Meiderich lock belongs - from the Rhine - to the first of the five canal stages of the Rhine-Herne Canal (RHK). It is located in Duisburg in the Meiderich district just east of the Duisburg-Ruhrort ports . It is the only lock on this canal level.

Waterways

Waterway network in Duisburg

The waterway network in Duisburg connects the Ruhr and the RHK especially through the connecting canal above the Ruhr lock Duisburg.

From the Rhine it is possible to sail up and up the canal via the port canal (with the Duisburg-Ruhrorter ports ) and the Meiderich lock as well as over the Ruhr and the Ruhr lock Duisburg .

The Rhine-Ruhr port in Mülheim an der Ruhr is approached via the Schleusenkanal (unofficially known as the Ruhrschifffahrtskanal) and the Ruhrschleuse Raffelberg . The lock channel cuts off the wide loops of the Ruhr that are unsuitable for inland navigation.

The RHK branches off to the north on the port canal of the Duisburg-Ruhrorter ports. Waltrop can be reached via it , where the RHK ends and merges into the Dortmund-Ems Canal (DEK). This leads on the one hand further north and on the other hand over the canal step Henrichenburg to the southeast into the port of Dortmund . The canal cross in Datteln ( Dattelner Meer ) can be reached via the DEK to the north , where the Datteln-Hamm Canal (DHK) branches off to the east and, a little further north, the Wesel-Datteln Canal (WDK) branches off to the northwest.

The lock

In 1980 the current lock was completed, the 24 m high lower gate of which with the control stand sets a yellow landmark visible from afar in the port and Ruhr landscape. The outer harbor of the old lock can still be seen underwater by the walls of the canal walls. As a reserve space for a possibly necessary new construction of the lock, it will not be filled.

The predecessor of today's lock was put into operation when the canal was opened in 1914. Instead of the old 165 m long and 10 m wide lock chamber, the new one has a usable length of 190 m and a width of 12 m, so that even large push convoys can pass through the lock with European class II barges.

The height of fall depends on the Rhine water level. When the Rhine floods, the water level towards the Rhine can even be higher than in the canal, so that the canal does not have to be channeled uphill as usual, but down into the valley. The lock does not have its own pumping station, but the pumps in harbor basin C of the Ruhrorter Hafen ensure that the water is pumped back into the canal.

The lock can be operated by one person. Here at the beginning of the canal is the lifting point for the usage fees, the incoming and outgoing ships are registered. The Ruhr locks in Duisburg and Raffelberg are also controlled from here . Around 25,000 ships with a total of 15 million tons of freight passed the Meiderich lock in 1996.

The canal step was equipped with only one lock chamber, as the nearby Duisburg Ruhr lock can take over the function of a second chamber.

Map of the canal with ports, locks, etc. v. a. m.

In January 2011, a tanker rammed the gate in the underwater, which due to the high water at that time sluiced down into the valley instead of the mountain. The channel was then blocked for several days. Although the canal was then reopened for shipping, the damage to the gate can still be seen at the end of 2013.

Web links

Commons : Schleuse Meiderich - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

^ "Meiderich lock in Duisburg will remain closed for days after a ship accident" , Der Westen on January 17, 2011. Accessed on November 1, 2013.

[schiffsunfall-1] "Meiderich lock in Duisburg will remain closed for days after a ship accident" , Der Westen on January 17, 2011. Accessed on November 1, 2013.