When it comes to the Netherlands, people often think of the strength and determination of its citizens in overcoming tragedies caused by storms and rising sea levels.
The 2000-year history of the Netherlands is a 2000-year struggle against the sea and water. This battle has lasted for centuries, and today, the country boasts a modern system of sea dikes, including the Afsluitdijk, which has been voted by architects as one of the 10 greatest works on the planet.
The Zuiderzee (Southern Sea) was once located inland and connected to the North Sea, measuring 100 km long, 50 km wide, with an area of about 5,000 km2 and a depth of 4 – 5 meters.
Immediately after the storm in 1916 broke many dikes, resulting in 16 fatalities and flooding 300 km2, causing massive economic damage, the Dutch government planned to close the bay with a dam called the Afsluitdijk.
Building a dam in the sea at the bay entrance is an extremely labor-intensive and costly endeavor…, especially since the water flow in this area is very complex.
Construction was carried out from four points, gradually expanding the base of the dam by driving piles. The Dutch excavated blocks of glacial clay from the seabed and constructed two parallel walls to form the dam. Then, they used ships to transport stones, sand, and clay to fill the space between the two walls.
Next, heavy machinery covered the surface of the dam and reinforced the foundation with basalt. At particularly weak points, with significant depths and corresponding strong tidal impacts, Dutch experts had to implement special measures and additional reinforcement works.
Remarkably, construction took place in the early 20th century, and only took a mere 6 years, from 1927 to 1933.
The amount of materials used for the Afsluitdijk is estimated at about 23 million m3 of sand and 13.5 million m3 of cement, not to mention an average of about 4,000 to 5,000 workers participating on-site each day.
90 meters wide, 32 kilometers long, and 7.25 meters high above sea level, with 4 lanes of traffic on top, the Afsluitdijk significantly shortens travel time from North Holland to Friesland.
This massive hydraulic structure has helped the Netherlands minimize the impact of the North Sea on fisheries and agriculture in the northern provinces. In addition, the Zuiderzeewerken project has provided the Netherlands with an additional 1,650 km2 of land for habitation and agriculture.
The monument to the father of the project – engineer Cornelis Lely (1854 – 1929) does not face the open sea but rather looks towards Lake IJsselmeer. The capital city of Flevoland is named Lelystad, after the chief engineer of the Zuider Works project (Cornelis Lely), in recognition of his contributions.
Not far from there is the monument to those who directly laid each stone in this admirable construction. It is a bronze and concrete statue depicting a worker, with cracks on his body, bending to lift a stone.
From space, the Afsluitdijk can be seen – a meticulously calculated structure and a technological achievement of humanity.
