Julianakanaal Limburg

Important information

Project name: Widening and deepening Julianakanaal
Date: project start 2012, spring 2025 
Client: Van den Herik-Sliedrecht
Location: From Berg a/d Maas to Born lock
Scope: approximately 4 km widening and deepening

Project Summary

Rijkswaterstaat is working to future-proof the international Maasroute by widening and deepening the Juliana Canal. This will make the canal suitable for larger inland waterway vessels and significantly increase passage capacity. The total project is between Limmel and Maasbracht and involves 26.6 km of deepening and 11 km of widening. The section now under consideration is the last section in this project.

Since the start of the tender in 2012, MOS Grondmechanica, part of SOCOTEC, has been involved in this project. By now, most of the canal has been addressed. For the last 4 kilometers, between Berg aan de Maas and Sluis Born, a different method was used in August 2024: this section was drained to excavate the canal bottom and embankments. A temporary dam at Berg aan de Maas provided controlled water discharge through Born Lock. This proved necessary because other methods by which navigation could continue (in the wet and in the semi-dry) proved unfeasible.

To spare the environment, a transport road was constructed on the canal bed, including a temporary transport bridge to a storage area. After the excavation work, a new canal bed was installed with bentonite mats covered with gravel and broken stones as a water retaining lining, good for a life span of at least 100 years.
According to schedule, the Juliana Canal will be reopened to shipping in April 2025, putting the renewed Maas route back into use.

Project description

MOS Grondmechanica has been involved in this extensive and complex project since 2012. The complexity is due to the geological origin of the area and the location of the canal. The subsurface is characterized by the ground terraces with the fault lines present and the challenging properties of the soil consisting of gravel, the poorly permeable sands of Breda and also large boulders. The canal was thereby constructed largely at ground level with available soil from the surrounding area and provided with a water-inhibiting clay layer. With a low groundwater level, this provides a dry zone under the canal bottom. From the surrounding area, the location of the Juliana Canal on and along a steep ridge and close to the unique Kingbeek nature reserve is decisive. All these factors required a flexible approach, whereby the working method had to be adjusted several times during the project.

Throughout the entire project, MOS Grondmechanica deployed its expertise in various disciplines, including mapping risks, providing geotechnical and geohydrological advice, monitoring and execution supervision.
The draining of the canal had to be very controlled and gradual to avoid damage to bridges, quay and canal embankments. This process affected not only the stability of structures, but also groundwater flows in the surrounding area. Especially in the field of geohydrological advice, MOS Grondmechanica played a crucial role in this throughout the project. MOS Grondmechanica installed an extensive measurement network of monitoring wells for the study and provided monitoring. The impact of the dredging and drying on groundwater fluctuations in the immediate vicinity, among other things, were analyzed in detail. Based on these findings, calculations were made and advice provided to manage risks and thus also minimize undesirable effects on the nearby nature reserve.

Also in the final phase of the project, which is currently being worked on, MOS carried out soil testing by drilling and probing. The soil samples collected were analyzed in the laboratory where the necessary soil parameters and permeability of the subsurface and silt layers were mapped. These insights were incorporated into the geohydrological models that help make strategic choices for both water management and stability of the area.

To ensure the stability of structures during reclamation, MOS Grondmechanica performed calculations and had measures implemented, such as installing additional monitoring wells, deformation points and inclinometers. Through this monitoring, where possible continuous measurements are taken, deviations can be responded to immediately and risks are controlled.

The construction team, in which MOS works closely with Van den Herik and Rijkswaterstaat, is strongly committed to quality, safety and risk management and careful communication with stakeholders. This cooperation has led to a very precise execution, in which the impact on the environment and the nature reserve is also carefully managed.