Kassel City Lock
Ground-breaking ceremony for the new structure

After the Kassel City Lock had been closed for safety reasons for over five years, the ground-breaking ceremony for its replacement structure took place at the end of July 2021. The old lock chamber from the year 1913 is being emptied of water and will serve as a construction pit for the new reinforced concrete lock. With dimensions of approximately 35 m by 7 m, the new lock will be significantly smaller than the existing one and will better match the dimensions of the neighbouring locks. Inros Lackner is responsible for the general planning and design of the project.

The new lock will be equipped with impact gates and a simple, user-operated control system, with additional remote monitoring from the KASSELWASSER control centre. The project’s particular challenges include heritage protection requirements, difficult access to the construction site and the need to consider the ability of water sports enthusiasts to pass the site during the construction phase. It is also a project that is unique in Germany and will serve as a model for others. With the downgrading of the Fulda River to a waterway of the type “Other”, the Kassel City Lock lost its importance for heavy shipping. Considering its diminished condition, Germany’s Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration decided to decommission the structure. The city of Kassel took over the lock from the federal government, which is contributing 50% to the construction costs of the replacement structure. The city's KASSELWASSER company was given the role of client and project manager for the construction project.

^{Source: hna.de}