RESILIENT - Upgrade of the Gambsheim locksite: improving the resilience of infrastructure on the Rhine (part 2)

ongoing

The Project aims to upgrade the second chamber of the Gambsheim lock site to improve its resilience to climate change. It is the direct continuation of Action 2019-FR-TM-0317-W and represents the final phase of the Global Project aiming at modernizing the Gambsheim’s lock system. Indeed, the diagnosis establishes the existence of a degradation cycle of the lock chamber, notably linked to the alternation between heavy rainfall and drought periods aggravated by climate change, threatening the resilience of the lock chamber on the long-term, and therefore of the whole lock site. Modernizing this lock chamber will ensure that it can withstand the aforementioned hazards and operate reliably over time, thereby making it effectively future-proof. The upgrading infrastructure of this second chamber is therefore a key step to prevent potential bottlenecks on the Rhine and the TEN-T North Sea – Rhine – Mediterranean corridor notably in the context of climate change, and to enable the Gambsheim locks to ensure continuous navigation on the Rhine (24hours a day, 365 days a year), as required by the Mannheim Convention, signed in 1868 by the riparian countries of the Rhine. Hence, this project will reinforce the broader resilience of inland waterway transport systems across Europe. The Project of modernization of this second chamber, scheduled for 2025-2027, is divided into two work packages: - Work Package 1: Project management and communication - Work Package 2: Upgrade of the second chamber of Gambsheim lock, with realizing mechanical, civil engineering, and auxiliary works.