2023-10-01 17:31:49
Navigation near the Auvelais lock, where around thirty boats are currently stuck on the Sambre due to a construction delay, should be able to resume on Thursday, the Walloon Public Service (SPW) said on Sunday.
The end of the work has been announced several times but the company in charge of the site has fallen behind schedule. In this context, boats already on their way found themselves blocked and there are now around thirty of them waiting, a U-turn being complicated or simply impossible for most.
“We were hoping that passage would be possible once more last Friday, then the service provider told us that it would be Monday and finally Thursday,” explained Vincent Feller of the SPW. “We are sorry regarding the situation but each time we communicated with the boatmen at least two days before the initially planned deadlines. We hope that this time the deadline will be respected. »
The project, initiated in May 2021, aims to develop the Auvelais lock, put into service 60 years ago, to allow the passage between Namur and Auvelais of boats which have a depth of 2.80 meters, compared to 2. 60 meters currently. The work is part of the vast “Seine-Escaut” project, which provides for the upcoming construction of the canal of the same name in France and the connection of the Meuse and the Namur Sambre to the Seine basin. This new link will see an increase in river traffic and the proportion of larger boats (which offer better “efficiency” in terms of CO2 emitted per tonne transported) sailing on the Walloon section.
Currently, large boats cannot be loaded to their full capacity if they want to pass through the lock. The work must in particular ensure greater ease of passage through the structure and improve the reliability, and therefore the availability, of the lock.
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