9km Eastern Scheldt Barrier

Dystopian Flood Protection

The concrete pillars of the Eastern Scheldt Storm Surge Barrier look like something straight out of a Frank Herbert book during construction. Also known as the eighth wonder of the world.

It was also declared one of the modern Seven Wonders of the World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. It truly is a civil and hydraulic engineering marvel.

This 9-kilometre-long flood barrier consists of 65 huge concrete pillars separated by sliding barrier gates, forming a permeable barrier with gates that can be closed during storm surges. It's part of the famous Dutch Delta Works, a series of dams and storm surge barriers designed to protect the Netherlands from flooding from the North Sea.

The Easter Sheldt Barrier was the most difficult and expensive part of the Delta works. Work on the dam took more than a decade.

The dam is based on 65 concrete pillars with 62 steel doors, each 42 metres wide. Each pillar is between 35 and 38.75 metres high and weighs 18000 tonnes. They are designed to last more than 200 years.