Team of engineers selected for Meandering Meuse project
As part of the Meandering Meuse project, the dike between Ravenstein and Lith is to be reinforced. In addition, more room will be created for the river Meuse, and the area will undergo development. The project focuses on both sides of the river between the A50 motorway at Ravenstein and the locks at the village of Lith, i.e. the side in the province of Brabant and the side in the province of Gelderland. The Meandering Meuse project team has commissioned a consortium of the engineering firms Witteveen+Bos, Tauw, Land-id and Bureau Drift, under the name Meandering Meuse Engineering Team, for the provision of the engineering services.
From 1 December 2017 to late 2019 these engineers will perform research, calculation and drawing activities for the dike reinforcement, river widening and area development project. This part of the project is referred to as the Ravenstein-Lith Exploration. In the work they perform, the engineering team will also incorporate ideas from project stakeholders. The reinforcement of the 25-kilometre-long dike between Ravenstein and Lith, combined with the widening of the river Meuse, will protect some 270,000 people against flooding in the future.
Contributing to thought, consultation and design processes
The project is currently in the exploration phase. During this period the engineering team will perform many studies of a technical nature, such as soil and water level surveys. The engineers will also create general designs and estimate the associated costs.
At this stage, residents, entrepreneurs, leisure visitors and other stakeholders will be asked for ideas and suggestions. These may be suggestions that contribute to the dike reinforcement between Ravenstein and Lith, or initiatives to make the area more attractive, for example. In other words, stakeholders will be able to participate in the thought, consultation and design processes. All of this should ultimately lead to a decision being made in 2019 on a set of measures for dike reinforcement, river widening and area development (the preferred alternative) in which the interests of all stakeholders have been taken into account as far as possible.
Planning and collaborating partners
The exploration phase of the Meandering Meuse project will end in 2020. After that the plans will be further elaborated. The execution phase is expected to start in 2023, and project completion is planned for 2028.
In the Ravenstein-Lith Exploration, 10 different parties are working together: the Aa en Maas and Rivierenland water authorities, the provincial authorities of Noord-Brabant and Gelderland, the municipal authorities of Oss, West Maas, and Waal en Wijchen, the nature conservation organisation Natuurmonumenten, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, and the Directorate-General of Public Works and Water Management (Rijkswaterstaat, RWS). Aa and Maas Water Authority is the driving force behind the exploratory efforts. The Meandering Meuse project is part of the national flood protection programme HWBP and the Multi-Year Programme for Infrastructure, Spatial Planning and Transport (MIRT).
More information about the project can be found on www.meanderendemaas.nl