Flood protection is one of the most important tasks within our work. To protect the land against flooding, it is essential that ports and channels are properly maintained, including in the upstream sections of the Rhine in Germany.
In Leopoldshafen, just south of Karlsruhe, both the port and the connecting channel to the Rhine were in urgent need of maintenance. The project combines improvements to the aquatic environment with the strengthening of flood protection.
For this complex project, Smals dredged 160,000 tonnes of gravel to create a storage location for approximately 100,000 m³ of silt originating from the access channel. Once the gravel extraction was completed, dredging of the channel could begin. To carry out the project efficiently, the screening installation and the loading pontoon ‘Beers’ were modified to make them suitable for processing large volumes of gravel. The gravel was then transported to the port of Wörth, while the silt was stored and processed locally.
The end result is a safely maintained channel and port, combined with an improved aquatic environment and sustainable flood protection. Leopoldshafen was an ambitious project to which Smals is proud to have made an integrated contribution.
Location
Rhine, Leopoldshafen, Germany
Volume
100,000 m³ of silt
160,000 tonnes of material
Equipment
Cutter suction dredger
Hopper barges
Loading pontoon ‘Beer’
Social / economic value
