Repair work on the damaged lock in Germany is progressing quickly. To the point that February 1 is now being considered as the date for reopening river traffic on the river. Good news for border ports.
On January 2, 2025, the German Shipping Office Mosel-Saar-Lahn (WSV) was able to start the first preparatory work with a view to the repair of l’écluse de Muden out of use since December 8. And the news is not without importance, particularly for the economic activity of the ports of ????????Trier????????Merter or ????????Metz (to only talk about the Greater Region).
Indeed, after the drying of the hold and the release of the 70 boats stranded in the Rhineland, the technicians are now thinking better about how they will get rid of the concrete parts damaged by the collision with a barge a month ago. This will be done via very high pressure water jets.
And while a traffic stop on the Moselle was planned for the end of March, now the teams are betting instead on a resumption of boat passage for the very beginning of February. An eight-week advance which should bring much relief to a number of German, Luxembourg and Lorraine entrepreneurs as much as this “river highway” constitutes a major axis for the import-export of manufactured products, raw materials or agricultural products.
For the installation of the new walls of the structure, it is planned to heat the site. Large radiators will therefore be positioned to ensure rapid drying of the new materials. While a factory in Trier has announced that it will be able to supply a new “gate” to the lock.
This leaf should leave its factory on January 17 for a installation scheduled from January 25. A week later, the blockade of barge passage could then be lifted.
In the meantime, Luxembourg will tolerate truck traffic on these roads on the eve of upcoming Sundays or public holidays. A measure adopted by the Government, on the eve of Christmas, to ensure certain supplies or departures of goods which, until then, passed through the Moselle.
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