Rijkswaterstaat delegation visits the United States
In early April Martin Wijnen paid a 1st working visit to the US in his current position as Director-General of Rijkswaterstaat.
Rijkswaterstaat works in partnership with 2 important partner organisations: the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on flood protection (dike/levee safety, storm-surge barriers, nature-based solutions, crisis management), asset management and waterway infrastructure, and with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on roadways and transport.
An interesting and intensive programme was put together by USACE, FHWA, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (IenW), and the Netherlands Embassy in Washington.
Knowledge and innovation
Rijkswaterstaat has over 2 decades of partnership agreements with both parties, particularly on sharing knowledge and innovation. The US is a high-priority country for Rijkswaterstaat and IenW in respect of international partnership. Rijkswaterstaat is well-known for its unique expertise in the field of storm-surge barriers, for instance.
Mission accomplished
The visit allowed Martin Wijnen to get to know the key collaborative partners for Rijkswaterstaat in the US and affirmed the good relationships. In addition, we were able to get inspiration from the developments in the US in the field of smart mobility, for instance. We also visited a number of new contacts with whom we may work in the future, such as the Texas Department of Transportation.
From Baltimore to New Orleans
A wide range of topics and subjects were raised during this visit. For example, the Rijkswaterstaat delegation visited the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, where the subject under discussion was crisis management, clear-up work, rebuilding and a new bridge design. New Orleans was also part of the programme.
Since the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Rijkswaterstaat has been playing a significant role together with Dutch business partners, such as the TU Delft, Deltares, engineering consultancies and advisory firms. It's easy to make the comparison with the Netherlands: New Orleans, too, is in a low-lying area. Partnership with Rijkswaterstaat here has been particularly intensive since the completion of the Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System and generally uses the I-STORM network.
Moving storm-surge barrier
The delegation also visited Galveston, Texas. A double moving storm-surge barrier (comparable to the Maeslantkering) is to be built at the entry to Galveston Bay, plus a double retractable barrier (comparable to the Haringvlietsluizen).
The Americans are enthusiastic about the course of the partnership with Rijkswaterstaat via I-STORM and, for our part, we remain invested in the completion of this mega-project, too, which is projected to take around 20 years in total. We can learn a lot from that, not least in light of the maintenance work. And so, the partnership continues to flourish.
Successful visit
The current dynamic in the US also affects our Federal partner organisations. The visit sends a strong signal from the Netherlands that we greatly value partnership. This working visit was both valuable and necessary, as it helps Dutch experts and their American counterparts to continue with their fruitful collaboration on specific projects.