Pierre Vandammesluis

Kustlaan without number. Pierre Vandammesluis. Connection lock between the tidal Voorhaven and the non-tidal Achterhaven. Built between 1972 and 1985 to replace the too-small Visartsluis (cf. Kustlaan without number). The lock's name pays tribute to former mayor Pierre Vandamme (1895-1983), who was a strong advocate for the harbor from a young age. From 1950 to 1974, he was the chairman of the M.B.Z. Dimensions of the lock: total length: 694 m, width between the lock walls: 57 m, sill depth 18.5 m below low water level. The lock consists of two lock heads with a central saskolk 500 m long. The lock walls are made of highly founded quay walls on reinforced concrete piles and sheet piling; the draining floor of the saskolk consists of perforated concrete elements, closely placed on a filter layer made up of a gravel layer on filter fabric. Each lock head is equipped with two steel rolling doors, so there is always a reserve door present on each of the two sides. These rolling doors move sideways in door chambers, which have a length of 64.50 m and a width of 11 m. Each door chamber can function as a dry dock for the maintenance or repair of the rolling doors. When a rolling door needs to be dried, the door chamber is closed off on the lock side by means of a caisson door. The rolling doors, made of welded steel, are 58.60 m long, 10.90 m wide and 24.30 m high. At the front, the doors rest on a lower roller truck that rolls on rails placed on a lock floor; at the back, the doors are hung on an upper roller truck that rolls on tracks that are installed at the top on both sides of the door chamber. The emptying and filling of the saskolk is done through a series of five butterfly valves, installed in each rolling door in pipes with a diameter of 1.80 m, which connect both sides of the doors. The filling time of the saskolk is approximately 40 minutes with a height difference of 4.50 m and approximately 35 minutes with a height difference of 3.50 m. The equipment of the lock also includes four steel lift bridges, two at each lock head, and a supply culvert that connects the docks in the Achterhaven with the seaward access channel and ensures that the docks in the Achterhaven maintain a constant level. On the eastern bank, there is a tall lock keeper's post at each bridge, with the so-called Vandammehuis in between, cf. Isabellalaan.

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