Delta Works and Zuiderzee Works
The works changed the safety, economy and ecology of large parts of the Netherlands. They show a shift from complete closure and land reclamation towards a more complex balance between protection, nature and climate resilience.
Facts
- Place
- Eastern Scheldt Storm Surge Barrier, the Netherlands (representative location)
- Civilisation / patron
- Dutch government, water boards and engineers
- Built
- 1920 – 1997
- Status
- Still standing
- Seven Wonders of the Modern World (ASCE)
History
The American Society of Civil Engineers’ 1994 list groups the Delta Works and Zuiderzee Works as one Dutch hydraulic engineering wonder. The Zuiderzee Works include the Afsluitdijk and land reclamation; after the 1953 North Sea flood came the dams and storm-surge barriers of the Delta Plan. The Eastern Scheldt barrier has closable openings to preserve part of the tidal environment, while the Maeslant Barrier was completed in 1997. The construction period summarises these major projects; protection and adaptation of the water system continue.
More from: Modern era
Sources: Wikipedia — Deltawerken en Zuiderzeewerken · Wikipedia — Zuiderzeewerken