Infrastructure security

Safety is the top priority for the Seine-Nord Europe Canal Company and its partners. At every stage of the project, stringent measures are implemented to anticipate risks and ensure the safety of everyone, users and local residents alike.

Conception

The stability of the Canal embankments and its various structures as well as the preservation of their erosion over time are strong and structuring issues in the design work carried out by the Société du Canal Seine-Nord Europe.

Various measures are being implemented to respond to this, including:

very efficient sealing of the Canal basin, equivalent to a 40 cm layer of clay;
permeability of the embankments, composed of compacted materials such as treated silt;
good flow of watercourses crossing the Canal thanks to aqueducts and siphons, sized to manage very significant floods.

These measures make it possible to reduce water infiltration, avoid external erosion of the embankments and, thus, preserve the Canal from any degradation.

costs

The construction site of the Canal and its structures mobilizes numerous experts ensuring the proper application of the safety measures developed during the design phase.

Continuous monitoring is carried out by the construction companies and by a state-approved body within the project management team that oversees the site on a daily basis. The latter assumes responsibility and may, if deemed necessary, halt construction to perform the required checks.

Performance checks of the materials used are also carried out at various stages of construction for each structure. Their delivery is thus carried out in strict compliance with the quality and safety requirements defined by regulations and by the project owner, the Société du Canal Seine-Nord Europe.

Exploitation

Once the Canal is operational, safety will remain the number one priority for Voies navigables de France, the public establishment in charge of its management. It will ensure the integrity and sustainability of the works over the very long term, and will thus guarantee the safety of users and people living near the Canal.

24/24 monitoring will be carried out via a precise control system installed across the entire structure. Piezometric, topographic, and fiber optic measurements taken from the embankments will verify the structure's performance. Thanks to this system, any anomaly (leak or instability) will be detected and addressed immediately.

In addition, no sudden rupture of a structure like the Seine-Nord Europe Canal has been recorded because this type of anomaly can only occur very gradually and permanent monitoring makes it possible to identify them as soon as they appear.

Inspections of the structures will also be carried out by state services every 6 months to 5 years, depending on the size and type of structure.