Recommendations for assessing and upgrading old urban quay walls

From the earliest days, quay walls have played an essential role in the shipment of goods in the Netherlands. Therefore the relative old cities have historic quay wall structures. During the life time of these quay walls, the structures have been exposed to various loads due to changing boundary conditions. Currently there is no specific guideline for determining the minimal required safety of these old and historic structures. A specific point of interest is describing the methods and the extension of an inspection in urban areas.

Therefore an expert group is preparing a guideline for upgrading and analysing old quay walls in urban areas. This guideline is called “CUR recommendation C186”, In this CUR recommendation a design philosophy and practical guidelines for inspection protocols and verification are presented. The verification of the remaining life time in relation to the latest developments will be in line with the standardisation of the new Euro codes and national appendixes. Nowadays many urban quay walls are used for other purposes compared to their originally functional requirements. The quay walls have to withstand loads due to traffic and trees and have often a monumental functions. The quay walls are a part of the urban landscape in the city centres. Adaptation is necessary and commonly the execution of these adaptations will take place in highly populated areas. For these complex situations, adaptations and execution (near trees for example), practical recommendations are described.