Hydraulic engineering works involving reconstruction and strengthening of the Łuczański (Giżycki) Canal are in progress. Demolition work has already been completed, including the dismantling of reinforced concrete caps. The reinforcement and concreting of new caps is nearing completion. The next key stage will be dredging works to deepen this very important road as part of the Great Mazurian Lakes waterway. The work is progressing as planned by the contractor. The entire modernisation is being carried out by the DORACO Construction Corporation.
The reconstruction and reinforcement of the Łuczański Canal is being carried out at the request of the company Wody Polskie as part of the Regional Operational Programme for the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, which is part of a wide-ranging undertaking focused on the modernisation and expansion of the Great Mazurian Lakes waterways. Modernisation work began in January this year. Implementation of the contract was entrusted to the DORACO Building Corporation.
Implementation of the entire project is now past the halfway point. Demolition work involving the dismantling of reinforced concrete caps together with the securing of banks and the pulling out of reinforced concrete piles has already reached completion. This scope of work, as at the end of July this year, was 100% complete. Work in other areas is nearing completion. The sheet piling of the steel sheet piles is already 92% complete. The construction of the reinforced concrete cap (including reinforcement and concreting – 267 sections) is more than 80% complete. On the other hand, the installation of the electrical system (including the laying of the lighting supply cables) is 60% complete. Including both banks, a total of 4012 linear metres of the canal are being modernised.
“The works are proceeding in accordance with our assumptions, despite many difficulties. Most of it is being carried out using heavy equipment, including cranes working from pontoons over 12 metres wide. There are currently 200 pontoons on site, forming floating platforms of varying lengths and widths, spread along the entire length of the canal. The organisation of the work is very efficient, but due to the failure of the swing bridge, it was necessary to stop the movement of commercial vessels of the Mazurian Shipping. Individual sailors throughout the modernisation works can only use an alternative route, the so-called Old Canal, which is formed by the Niegocin Canal leading from Lake Niegocin to Tajty and then through the Piękna Góra Canal to Kisajno,” emphasised Piotr Siemaszko, Hydrotechnical Division Director, DORACO Building Corporation.
The contractor intends to commence dredging works in the near future. Their aim is to dredge and then locally reinforce the bottom with gabion mattresses. The dredging works will lead to the designed depth of the waterway.
The reconstruction of the Łuczański Canal will significantly improve the quality and safety of use of this waterway. Rubber fenders and mooring polders will be installed on the mooring sections. On both banks of the canal, metal ladders will be installed at 200-metre intervals, integrated into the outline of the pond. New descent steps on the embankments and rainwater outlets will also be created. The investment also includes insuring the entrances to the canal from the side of Lake Niegocin and Lake Kisajno, a minor adjustment of the route and de-sludging works to restore the canal’s permeability for navigation. In addition, there will be de-silting of both lakes at the canal outlets to restore the required parameters of the waterway. The minimum depth is to be 1.6 metres.
As part of the modernisation, modern solutions will be implemented to facilitate the use of the canal. Among other things, LED information boards will be installed at both inlets to provide information on the opening or closing of the rotating road bridge. The time until its opening or closing will also be counted down. Lighting for the waterway will also be installed.
