Strépy-Thieu River LiftStrépy-Thieu river lift t about the successor of the four UNESCO-listed elevators located on the Canal du Centre. In 1963, a standard of maximum displacement of 1,350 tons was introduced in European river navigation. The problem arose of how to overcome the 70-metre difference in level between La Louvière and Thieu.
In case of The previous canal solved this problem by using two locks and four elevators, each of which bridged a 16-meter difference in level. Now it has been decided to replace the six worn-out tools with one vertical lift that will eliminate the 73-meter difference in levels. Construction of this elevator began in 1982. It was put into operation after twenty years in 2002. |
Vertical Divider
Strépy-Thieu river elevator, photo. PM
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The total construction cost was 160 million euros. The implementation of this project allowed the required standard of 1,350 tons of load capacity to be achieved. Moreover, the elevator allowed for an increase in the maximum load capacity of ships sailing between the rivers. Meuse and Scheldt from 256 tons in 2001 to 2,295 tons in 2006. The lock is located on the Canal du Centre in the commune of Le Rœulx, Belgium. It was the highest boat lift until the opening of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in China.
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The elevator has impressive dimensions:
117 meters high
130 meters long 81 meters wide The dimensions of the chamber (bath) carrying the ships are 112 m by 12 m, bathtub depth 3.35–4.15 m. |
The structure consists of two independent counterweight cassettes that travel vertically. Due to Archimedes' principle, the caissons weigh the same whether they are carrying a boat or empty, the weight being balanced by the mass of water.
The vertically moving watertight gates are designed to withstand the impact of a 2,000-ton ship traveling at 5 km/h. |
