Buildings and landscaping at the Ampsin-Neuville lock site

Project: Buildings and landscaping at the Ampsin-Neuville lock site
Architect: Canevas

Momentary association

Greisch/Tractebel - Sous-traitant : Canevas

Programme

The project is part of the upgrading of the Ampsin-Neuville lock site to a high-gauge lock, which aims to improve river navigation and reduce the environmental impact of transport. The architectural brief covers several aspects of the project to build two new locks:

A new lock operator's station, technical rooms, energy-efficient renovation of the lock houses, renovation of the gallery of the existing dam;
Landscaping of both banks to restore a more natural character and better integrate the site and encourage soft mobility;
Participation in the overall design of the project's various civil engineering structures, including the footbridge, car parks, quays and access roads.

About: Located halfway between Namur and Liège, the Ampsin-Neuville lock site is a strategic link in the Walloon river network. Its expansion is a response to the major challenge of ensuring fluid, high-performance navigation between Namur and the Netherlands, by removing a bottleneck that was slowing down river transport on this key route. The main constraint was to keep the site in operation throughout the works. The control centre, designed to optimise visibility and management of the two locks, has a very narrow footprint to ensure traffic flow on the breakwater, with overhanging roofs to protect the glazed area from overheating and glare. The existing footbridge has been completely demolished and replaced by a new, longer, self-pinning steel footbridge accessible to PRMs. It spans the Meuse, the RN90 and the fish pass on the left bank of the river. This new link between Amay and Huy makes it easier for pedestrians and cyclists to get around, while offering a privileged view of the site. The landscaping work carried out mainly on the left bank aims to restore a more natural character to the site through various interventions: the partial demolition of the bank, the softening of the slopes, as well as the creation of breeding areas and a fish pass in the form of an artificial river. Designed to adapt to different species, it offers a variety of environments and flow rates for crossing the dam. On the right bank, beyond the straightened route of the N90 trunk road, the landscaping aims to re-establish plant continuity between the Meuse riverbank and the existing clump of trees on the north side of the hill.