Vistula Spit – june report

Work is in progress on the project “Construction of a waterway connecting the Vistula Lagoon with the Gulf of Gdańsk”. Currently, works related to the plunging of the sheet piling wall of the south quay have been completed in the area of the Gulf of Gdańsk, together with the anchoring of micro piles and flooding of the area. At the base of the western and eastern breakwater the sinking of sheet piling walls also ended. Dredging works are under way in the area of the south quay. The effects of work on the construction of the bridge, lock and canal are also becoming increasingly visible. On the northern and southern bridges, the plunging of prefabricated piles has been completed, and on the southern bridge, where work is more advanced, reinforced concrete works are under way.

– We are planning to get this facility ready to go and run in the first half of next year – says Jacek Szymański, project director from the NDI/Besix consortium. This structure is necessary because we have to move the traffic there in order to be able to build sheet pile walls and a shipping channel.

Works in the lock and lock gates have started. Earthworks, slope fortifications and construction of embankments for roads are continued.

Construction of the Canal through the Vistula Spit – June 2020 – NDI/BESIX from NDI Group on Vimeo.

– The work is proceeding according to the schedule. Among other things, we are carrying out bridge works, we already have partially poured out supports, reinforcements for both abutments are ready. Work is also under way on the lock, which will be 6.5 m deep. This reserve, in relation to the currently planned depth of the fairway (5m) is left for the future, so that it is easier to adjust the parameters of the waterway to the requirements related to the development of navigation in this area – said Anna Stelmaszyk-Świerczyńska, Deputy Director of the Maritime Office in Gdynia for Technical Affairs, Director’s Representative for Project Implementation. She also added that due to the great interest aroused by the construction, as well as for the sake of fluidity and safety of road traffic, in agreement and courtesy of the Elbląg Forest Inspectorate, a temporary parking place located on the eastern side of the construction site from the side of the Vistula Lagoon will soon be opened for use.

A concrete mixing plant has also been launched on the construction site, which will enable the preparation of the concrete mixture on site, without the need to transport it. In the area of the Vistula Lagoon a temporary wharf has been prepared, which is used to provide materials and equipment for the construction of an artificial island envelope. Material supplies and the mobilisation of equipment are currently under way to intensify work on the island.

In the next few weeks, another equipment to carry out the work will be on site. These will include pontoons and devices that will start sinking watertight walls. In addition to breakwater construction work, dredging will be carried out in the harbour basin within the southern quay.

– We will also continue the work in the lock and lock gate area – says Dominik Wróblewski, Head of Construction of the NDI/Besix consortium. In July we plan to finish the reinforced concrete works on the southern bridge and start on the northern bridge. Earthworks connected with sinking the canal wall and building the road system will continue.

The remaining works for the next few weeks are the construction of administrative buildings, i.e. the Harbourmaster’s building, and industry-related works, i.e. electrical, technical and sanitary ones. Work will also begin on the artificial island circumference.

Tenders are under way for the second part of the construction of the waterway connecting the Vistula Lagoon with the Gulf of Gdańsk, namely strengthening the banks of the Elbląg River, as well as for a dredger which will be dedicated to the maintenance of the new waterway and will probably also perform part of the work on the third stage of construction, i.e. dredging the track on the Vistula Lagoon. The total length of the new waterway will be 22,880 km (including the passage through the Vistula Lagoon – 10,176 km; Elbląg River – 10,381 km; the remaining 2,323 km is a section of a berth, lock and external harbour) and its depth is 5 m. Ultimately, it is supposed to allow ships up to 100 meters long and up to 20 meters wide to enter the port in Elbląg. Construction of the canal on the Vistula Spit is to be completed in 2022.

The investor is the Maritime Office in Gdynia, and the contractor of the first, currently implemented part of the investment is the consortium of NDI/Besix companies.