Renovation of the Pierre Vandamme Lock: How Problems of the Past Influence the Present

The Pierre Vandamme Lock is the main connection between the inner and outer harbour of the port of Zeebrugge (Belgium). During its construction and since its completion in 1984, the lock has been dealing with execution difficulties as well as many operational and maintenance deficiencies. After almost 30 years of small maintenance works, it was decided to initiate an extensive renovation campaign to make the lock gates futureproof. The renovation of the Vandamme Lock started in 2010 and consists of different phases. At the time of writing, the renovation of three out of four lock gates has been nearly completed and the renovation of the final lock gate is imminent. Problems from the original construction as well as choices that were made to mitigate the flaws in construction have been reverberating throughout the renovation campaign. These difficulties are illustrated with several case studies on the renovation of the seaward lock gate of this lock complex.