On Friday, August 8, 2025, the Spooldersluis and the Spooldersluis Bridge in Zwolle were reopened. After a thorough renovation, the lock complex is ready for the future.
A delegation from the municipality of Zwolle, Rijkswaterstaat, and the contracting combination Le Chêne (Van den Herik, BAM, and SPIE) sailed as the first through the renovated lock. This symbolically reopened the modernized complex safely for shipping and road traffic.
Work on Spooldersluis
Rijkswaterstaat and Le Chêne renovated the Spooldersluis and the Spooldersluis Bridge and made the complex fully ready for the future. All systems have been adapted for remote operation. Furthermore, standard building blocks have been used for the control desk and emergency stop: ready-made combinations of hardware and software that can be reused for different lock complexes. As a result, dozens of locks throughout the country will increasingly look the same in parts. This makes management and maintenance clearer and thus easier in the future.
Sustainable Approach
The renovation was carried out sustainably. The control building is now heated with a heat pump and the lighting is energy-efficient. Additionally, the steel from the lock gates and bridge parts has been reused, and electric machines have been deployed.
About Spooldersluis
The Spooldersluis (1963) is located in the municipality of Zwolle and forms the connection between the IJssel and the Zwolle-IJsselkanaal, behind which lies the Zwarte Water. Annually, over 6,000 inland vessels and nearly 11,000 recreational boats pass through the lock.
