The eyes underwater

As a diving company, Aquatech Diving specializes in civil underwater construction, both in the field of inspections and also in performing structural work. This includes diving inspections at structures such as bridges, pumping stations, locks and quays.

Aquatech Diving also performs diving work on new construction projects such as aqueducts, parking garages, pumping stations and locks. These are mostly work with the so-called construction pits where these are prepared with foundation anchors and underwater concrete. Last but not least, Aquatech is also regularly involved in underwater renovation work on existing engineering structures and quay constructions. 

Great commitment

From that background and experience, Aquatech Diving is also involved in the repair of the quays in Amsterdam, in the project Kade 2.020 on the Lijnbaansgracht. From the start of this pilot project, Aquatech Diving's involvement has been extensive. Inspecting and discussing the situation under water, thinking along in possibilities to arrive at an effective method to restore the quays for a long time and in a sustainable way.

Project leader Aquatech Steven Spanhaak explains in a nutshell about the construction: "Foundation piles are screwed along the quay in the water, elements are placed on them that serve as the basis for a new quay to be built. In 2022 there have been trials of placing those elements where the divers of Aquatech Diving have looked at and assessed the part under water to come up with a constructively well-fitting concept both above and below water."

Municipality of Amsterdam

The City of Amsterdam has realized that maintenance of the quays requires necessary action. This became apparent after pieces of quays were pushed into the canal and after several underwater diving inspections showed that very many of them were no longer reliable enough to do nothing about. The need for quick action became clear.

There are traditional ways of repairing quays, in which a large part of the canal and also of the road is closed off in order to do all the work in the dry. And a choice has also been made by the City of Amsterdam to carry out repair work in an alternative way by doing it in the wet, as in Pilot 2.020, i.e. with the assistance of culverts. This is an innovative and nuisance-reducing system, as work will be done from the water. The quay remains accessible to all traffic.

Steven: "Only once the old quay wall has been partially removed can we make a definitive inventory of the situation on site. To this end, a diving team from Aquatech Diving has been present on the Lijnbaansgracht five days a week since March 2023. We assist from the demolition of the old quay wall, and then together we install the new prefabricated quay elements on the foundation piles already installed. The challenge is to be increasingly inventive and skillful in applying the quay elements so that the work can be done faster and better. That's the interesting thing about a pilot project; the continuous drive to make improvements."