The government is earmarking hundreds of millions for a renovation of the Afsluitdijk. Innovator Daan Roosegaarde will also work on a renewed design for the dike. Minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen of Infrastructure and the Environment announced this on Tuesday.
According to Schultz van Haegen, the Afsluitdijk is due for a facelift after more than eighty years. The water barrier will be reinforced over the entire length of 32 kilometers. The locks are also being tackled. The government is allocating more than 800 million euros for the ‘metamorphosis’.
The refurbishment should lead to a ‘smart dike’ that not only protects against high water, but also promotes the economy and tourism, according to Schultz van Haegen. The government hired Daan Roosegaarde for the design. He should try to use the design to increase the value of the dike as an icon and an international calling card.
It has not yet been announced what exactly Roosegaarde will do with the Afsluitdijk. The inventor was previously involved as a brain in the Weg van de Toekomst, a stretch of road with luminous lines near Oss in Brabant. He was also involved in a ‘fairy-tale’ cycle path near Nuenen.
Roosegaarde is internationally known as an innovator, someone who comes up with creative solutions to problems. For example, he is working on a ‘vacuum cleaner’ that sucks up smog. Roosegaarde then uses the collected particulate matter to make a jewel by compressing the smog into a carbon crystal.