The Western Scheldt ( nl, Westerschelde) in the province of

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

in the southwestern

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, is the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

of the

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to ...

river. This river once had several estuaries, but the others are now disconnected from the Scheldt, leaving the Westerschelde as its only direct route to the sea. The Western Scheldt is an important shipping route to the

Port of Antwerp The Port of Antwerp-Bruges is the port of the City of Antwerp. It is located in Flanders (Belgium), mainly in the province of Antwerp but also partially in the province of East Flanders. It is a seaport in the heart of Europe accessible to ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. Unlike the

Eastern Scheldt The Eastern Scheldt ( nl, Oosterschelde) is a former estuary in the province of Zeeland, Netherlands, between Schouwen-Duiveland and Tholen on the north and Noord-Beveland and Zuid-Beveland on the south. It also features the largest nation ...

estuary, it could not be closed off from the sea by a dam as part of the

Delta Works The Delta Works ( nl, Deltawerken) is a series of construction projects in the southwest of the Netherlands to protect a large area of land around the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta from the sea. Constructed between 1954 and 1997, the works con ...

. Instead, the dykes around it have been heightened and reinforced. Over the years, many ships have sunk in the Western Scheldt. Following an agreement between the Dutch and Belgian governments in 1995, many of the wrecks have been removed to improve shipping access to Antwerp. It was expected that the last 38 wrecks in the shipping channel would be removed during 2003. The largest wreck was the long '' Alan A. Dale'', which was removed in June 2003. The Western Scheldt was freed from German occupation in October and November 1944 by the First Canadian Army during The Battle of the Scheldt. Recently, the Western Scheldt has been exploring the concept of "wisselpolders" or "exchange polders", a

sedimentation enhancing strategy Sedimentation enhancing strategies are environmental management projects aiming to restore and facilitate land-building processes in deltas. Sediment availability and deposition are important because deltas naturally subside and therefore need se ...

, to offset

land loss Land loss is the term typically used to refer to the conversion of coastal land to open water by natural processes and human activities. The term ''land loss'' includes coastal erosion. It is a much broader term than coastal erosion because land l ...

, enhance flood safety and which creates new land. One example is the Perkpolder project.

Western Scheldt Tunnel

In mid-March 2003, a

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

under the Western Scheldt opened, the Western Scheldt Tunnel, running from Ellewoutsdijk in the municipality of Borsele (

Zuid-Beveland Zuid-Beveland (; "South Beveland") is part of the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands north of the Western Scheldt and south of the Eastern Scheldt. Topography It is a former island, now peninsula, crossed by the Canal through Zuid-Bevel ...

) to Terneuzen in

Zeelandic Flanders Zeelandic Flanders ( ; zea, Zeêuws-Vlaonderen; vls, Zêeuws-Vloandern)''Vlaanderen'' in isolation: . is the southernmost region of the province of Zeeland in the south-western Netherlands. It lies south of the Western Scheldt that separates ...

. It is the longest road tunnel in the Netherlands. The toll (2012) is €5 for

cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, people in ...

and €2.50 for

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

s. Prior to 2011, the charge for motorcycles was the same as for cars, but it was reduced following protests. The single toll station for both directions is on the north bank. Pedestrians, cyclists, and moped riders are not allowed in the tunnel and must travel through it by bus.

Ferry

The double-decker car ferries that serviced the two Western Scheldt crossings until 2003 were sold to Italian companies. The Queen Beatrix (renamed ''Tremestieri'') and Prince Johan Friso (renamed ''Acciarello'') were adapted for the crossing between Messina and

Villa San Giovanni Villa San Giovanni is a port city and a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria of Calabria, Italy. In 2010 its population was 13,747 with a decrease of 2.5% until 2016 and in 2020 an increase of 3.7% . It is an important termin ...

on the Italian mainland. With the opening of the road tunnel, the

Breskens Breskens is a harbour town on the Westerschelde in the municipality of Sluis in the province of Zeeland, in the south-western Netherlands. Its population is 4,787 (). The town is noted for the ''Visserijfeesten'' (Fishery Festival), the largest ...

Vlissingen Vlissingen (; zea, label= Zeelandic, Vlissienge), historically known in English as Flushing, is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river ...

ferry was restricted to pedestrians and cyclists. It is operated by Westerschelde Ferry BV, a subsidiary of the province of

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

. The service initially used former car ferries, but as of 2 May 2004 it employs two " small waterplane area twinhulls" (swaths, similar to catamarans), built at the Royal Schelde Group in Vlissingen (Flushing), and named ''Prins Willem Alexander'' and ''Prinses Máxima''. Upstream, the

Kruiningen Kruiningen is a village in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is located in the municipality of Reimerswaal, about 5 km south of the village of Yerseke.''ANWB Topografische Atlas Nederland'', Topografische Dienst and ANWB, 2005. Kruiningen ...

-Perkpolder ferry was discontinued without replacement.

References

External links

FerryTunnelFerry and Tunnel
(in Dutch, pdf, 1MB) {{Authority control Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta Estuaries of the Netherlands Rivers of Zeeland 0Westernscheldt Walcheren Zeelandic Flanders Zuid-Beveland Transport in Reimerswaal Transport in Vlissingen Ramsar sites in the Netherlands Rivers of the Netherlands

Western Scheldt Tunnel

Ferry

See also

References

External links