The weirs in the Meuse river in the Netherlands are after 100 years end of technical lifetime. As a consequence, Rijkswaterstaat is planning renovation or complete replacement. The present weir openings of 60 m wide are used for transit of vessels at high river discharges, when the weirs are lowered. Based on agreements between Belgium and the Netherlands from 1839 [1] and 1843 [2], the possibility of sailing through the weirs during high river discharges should remain (principle of non-deterioration). For the case of replacement, Rijkswaterstaat had a preference for a weir with three openings, for reasons of maintenance and water management. The Dutch MARIN institute executed fast time- and real time simulations to get insight in the navigability of a weir, with openings of 38, 38 and 24 m wide. Results were also used for improvement of the Dutch Guidelines for waterways 2020 [3]. The weir at Sambeek was taken as representative for the other Dutch weirs in the Meuse; 3D flow charts were delivered by the Dutch Deltares institute. The MARIN research showed, that the configuration studied was not feasible; recommended was a middle weir opening of at least around 50 m wide, corresponding with the swept path approaching the weir of 36 m plus ½B at both sides.
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The Dutch Rijkswaterstaat is responsible for the design, construction, management and maintenance of the main infrastructure in the Netherlands. This includes the main inland waterway network and water systems. To support the design from a traffic point of view Rijkswaterstaat developed the Waterways Guidelines in 1996, which evolved into the latest 2017 edition (RVW2017) [Ref. 1]. The RVW2017 are restricted to waterways without current or with a limited longitudinal flow velocity (less than 0.5 m/s). However, it is evident that in almost all free-flowing rivers this longitudinal flow velocity is exceeded. That is why the Rijkswaterstaat decided in 2015 to develop integral guidelines for inland waterways, including rivers. These guidelines will consist of design guidelines, of tables and rules of thumb for dimensioning the waterway in a free-flowing river, as an extension of the existing RVW2017. The extension of the RVW2017 to rivers started in 2015 by following the same design scheme as in the existing guidelines, identifying all aspects that would change when considering flowing waters. Only these aspects were dealt with. In the next sections some aspects of straight river sections and bends are discussed. @en