Let’s Get Our Hands Dirty!
After a period of careful preparation, Schieland en de Krimpenerwaard has now started with the execution of the TRUST project. In order to share this festive moment with the parties concerned, the project leader would like to invite all those concerned to witness the first spade.
In March 2006 Schieland and the Krimpenerwaard started excavating the new canal in the polder Bleiswijk Zuid. This new canal is only one of the measures in a major plan (Peil 2010) to prevent flooding in the Bleiswijk polder. These measures have been discussed with all the parties concerned at the planning phase, and their valuable input has been incorporated in the final plan.
The new canal replaces the original ditch, which was only 4 metres wide and 80 centimetres deep. The canal under construction will however in certain places differ in width from 16 to 22 metres. It will be 1.30 metres deep and over 2.5 kilometres long. Once the canal is completed, water storage problems and flooding will be history!
The widened canal will be multi-functional with respect to recreation (canoeing, boating), nature (ecological embankments), landscape, water management and water quality. Alongside the embankments, spaces will be reserved for maintenance. These spaces will be made accessible for pedestrians and, in some cases, for horseback riders.
To widen the canal, soil must be removed. This soil will be used to secure the quays and for the creation of ecological embankments.
The canal is due for completion by the end of 2006.
