Nijmegen ready for dike relocation river Waal
In order to give more ‘room for the river’ and avoid future flooding, in the Dutch city of Nijmegen the dike at Lent along the river Waal will be replaced 350 meters land inwards, leaving an island in the middle of the river. It is the first time a new dike is created in an existing urban area in the Netherlands and the city of Nijmegen has decided to use this measure to embellish the city, by creating chances for recreation, nature and urban development. The motto for the project has become “Nijmegen embraces the Waal’.
In order to give more ‘room for the river’ and avoid future flooding, in the Dutch city of Nijmegen the dike at Lent along the river Waal will be replaced 350 meters land inwards, leaving an island in the middle of the river. It is the first time a new dike is created in an existing urban area in the Netherlands and the city of Nijmegen has decided to use this measure to embellish the city, by creating chances for recreation, nature and urban development. The motto for the project has become “Nijmegen embraces the Waal’.
Project manager Pim Nijssen is contented about the knowledge exchange in the FRC project.’ We were inspired by the approach of the FRC project partners, the French city of Orléans and its surrounding communities. They have invested on increasing awareness by redeveloping the public space along the river Loire. Parking places have been removed and banks of the Loire have been given softly slanted slopes. People bike and walk along the river and generally live ‘with their faces to the river’ appreciating its dynamics and beauty. This concept and the sloped embankments have inspired the new quay wall that will be build at Nijmegen.’Video material of the dike relocation project (2009) at the river Waal is published on www.journalisticservicedesk.eu. Choose the FRC project/TV broadcast/Nijmegen.
Picture: artist impression of future dike relocation Nijmegen at the river Waal;
source Gemeente Nijmegen
