Naviduct

The term is introduced and used extensively in the Netherlands for referring to the works near Enkhuizen in Dutch and English language texts.

Prior to the official opening of the naviduct at 11am on 26 April 2003 by Roelf de Boer, delays often arose for both road and water traffic, which could not pass the lock location simultaneously, and this was a particularly acute problem at the Enkhuizen end of the dike.

[4][5] The naviduct is constructed in a specially designed polder, having an artificially managed water table depth of -12.00 m NAP.

The polder guide dams were built using the geotextile tube method, where porous sausage-shaped bags are pumped full of sand slurry.

The slurry is dewatered as the pumps fill the bags, forming a stable structure that is subsequently covered with quarried stone.

Naviducts have a high construction cost compared to standard locks and bridges, but benefit the economy by reducing delays.

The former State Secretary for Infrastructure and the Environment, Joop Atsma, issued a statement in 2012 detailing the factors influencing the decision to build a new naviduct on the Afsluitdijk at Kornwerderzand.