A contract was signed in Sweden on June 19, 2014, for a major project to make alterations to an existing lock in the Södertälje canal in the city of Södertälje near Stockholm. The canal itself will be widened and deepened.
Dutch engineering and consultancy firm Witteveen+Bos and its Swedish partner WSP will start work on the project on behalf of the Swedish maritime agency Sjöfartsverket at a kick off meeting on June 26, 2014.
The contract is part of the Swedish Mälaren project to improve the accessibility of the ports of Västerås and Koping.
Larger seagoing vessels
The Södertälje canal needs to be widened and deepened to offer seagoing vessels up to 165 metres long and 23 metres wide access to the ports of Västerås and Koping that are located land inwards.
Some work will also be necessary in Södertälje itself to allow the handling of maritime traffic.
This work includes extending, widening and renovating a lock (two new gate chambers and doors, modernisation and extension of the shore side), creation of new slackening structures around the existing bridges, provision of erosion protection for embankments and soil, design of a new road bridge at the lock, creation of new waiting berths and protection of the area against future flooding risks.
[mappress]
Press Release, June 24, 2014