Kiel-Holtenau lock system

Structural verification for the new construction of the supply culvert

The Kiel-Holtenau lock system is one of the world's largest lock facilities, located in the Kiel sewer, one of the busiest artificial waterways. It consists of a small and a large lock, which were taken in operation in the years 1895 and 1914.

Under the lock groups, the so-called supply culvert is located. This is a tunnel with pipes for water, sewage, power supply and communication. Since these sewages have reached the end of their life cycle after more than 100 years of operation, a replacement building is to be build.

The replacement building is an approximately 417 m long conduct culvert, with an internal dimension of approximately 180 cm. The culvert is produced from the starting shaft (southern shaft) under the subsidence-sensitive lock until the entrance opening of the target shaft in a closed construction as a pipe jacking. Both the start and the target shaft are made as auger pile shafts and receive an inner shell made of waterproof concrete for their utilisation as a steady structure.

Aside from the two connecting shafts, a total of four further connecting shafts made of steel are produced on the central wall of the two locks and the centre island. These connecting shafts are used for establishing a connection to the supply culvert and the supply of the plant.
Furthermore, a new jetty will be constructed at the western tip of the island. During the construction work, the jetty will be used to tender the construction site. After completion, it is used as a permanent jetty.

ZPP (verification engineer: Dr.-Ing. Dieter Lehnen) acts as a structural design verification engineer.