Building for the next 20 years
An essential link between the river Seine and the maritime port of Le Havre. The official inauguration of the modernised locks of Tancarville at the end of February saw a multi-year construction project come to an end. A total of EUR 15 million was invested in the three phases from 2016, which will enable inland barges to reach the seaport of Le Havre from the Seine. The two gateways are of great strategic importance.
Since the completion of the Normandy Bridge in 1995 the Tancarville Bridge no longer offers the last opportunity to cross the river Seine with dry feet before its mouth. Just downstream of the bridge barges have to turn west into the Tancarville Canal to sail to the port of Le Havre.
Two locks regulate the traffic to ensure that barges can make the 25 km journey around the clock, at any water level. More than 5,000 barges – or 14 a day – sail on the route every year, after all.
This section of the Seine silts up particularity quickly, due to the ‘muddy plug’ of the estuary. The use of the locks alone isn’t enough to combat siltation, which is why river management is supplemented by regular dredging work.
Two phases for eventualities
To make the workings of the Tancarville locks more reliable, a programme was launched that saw the upper gate of the old lock modernised. The first phase of the project took place in 2016-2017, and then the second phase saw both gates of the newer lock rehabilitated (2016-2022).
Between 2019 and 2020 then the overpass bridge of the old lock was also rebuilt. It now has a lane that was widened to 4.5 m and can thus be used by vehicles weighing up to 48 t.
“The proper functioning of the locks represents a major strategic and economic challenge to the development of large-scale traffic on the Seine axis and its ability to compete in the market,” Daniel Havis, the chairman of the supervisory board of Haropa Port, underlined.
The costs of the project, with the results expected to remain in action for around 20 years, were borne by the state and the region of Normandy (EUR 6 million each), as well as by loans from the ‘France Relance’ plan.