The lock doors of the lock at Grave are being replaced by new ones. This means that the lock will be closed to all shipping for a month and a half from March 15. This maintenance is desperately needed, because in recent years ships have regularly had to detour due to a malfunction. It is not just the lock that is being tackled. The adjacent weir is also getting a major makeover. This maintenance will take more than a year.
The weir and lock complex at Grave has long been a source of concern for shipping on the Meuse. The weir is there to regulate the water level of the Maas. The locks ensure that ships can bridge the height difference. But things regularly go wrong.
- The lock has been blocked several times because there is something wrong with the lock doors or their operation. This happened in August 2022 and December 2023.
- In September 2023, one of the so-called yokes will break during maintenance work on the weir. These are poles between which the gates of a weir hang. The Meuse water can flow freely. The water level behind the weir is dropping considerably and ships cannot sail over that stretch of the Maas for a while.
- Things went terribly wrong at the end of 2016. An inland vessel sails straight through the weir. Five yokes break. There is a hole 25 meters wide in the weir. It will take weeks for the dam to be repaired.
Rijkswaterstaat will now tackle the dam and lock complex. “Everything that has happened to the lock and weir so far makes it clear once again how important this maintenance is,” says a spokesperson.
The lock will have new lock doors on one side, but that does not mean the maintenance is finished. Everything around those doors will also be replaced. A lock has doors on two sides. However, the doors on the other side will not be replaced, because they are still good according to Rijkswaterstaat.
The work will last from March 15 to April 28. During that period, ships cannot pass through the lock at Grave. Skippers must therefore take a detour, for example via the Maas-Waal Canal and the Waal.
Work on the weir
Rijkswaterstaat will start work in April to renovate the weir at Grave. All yokes and sliders to regulate the water level and also the operation of the yokes will be replaced. This work will take more than a year. Traffic over the John S. Thompson Bridge and shipping will not be affected by these works.
View the images of the broken weir in September last year here.