Planning an excavation for a new lock at the Elbe‐Seitenkanal near Lüneburg – great challenges to overcome
The Elbe‐Seitenkanal connects the seaport of Hamburg to the German inland waterways; therefore, it is an important back country support for the Port of Hamburg. At ESK‐km 106, near the city of Scharnebeck, the ship lift Lüneburg is located. The double vertical ship lift was built between 1969 and 1975 and operates since 1976. The ship lift overcomes a drop height of 38 m. For the contemporary sizes of ships, the ship lift is too small and has to rebuilt. Thus, it should be constructed a thrift lock with in tiers integrated economizing basin in the chamber walls. The effective length would be augmented to 225 m. For the construction of the new lock an excavation with the dimensions 260 m × 60 m × 25 m is needed; close to the existing ship lift. Within the planning the focus lies on the impact of the challenging excavation/lock construction to the nearby ship lift.