Pre-planning, technical consulting and support of the planning approval procedure and project management for construction of the “Sea Bridge Juist”.

Time schedule:

2001: First design of a an eastern breakwater
2001 – 2002: Functional design of “Sea Bridge Juist” and first measuring program
2002 – 2003: Extended preliminary planning of “Sea Bridge Juist”.
2003 – 2006: Project management and coordination for preparation of documents for the plan approval procedure as well as execution of a hydrological and morphological measuring program
2006: Support of the plan approval procedure
2007 – 2008: Support of the construction works

Client/Contact authority:

Lower Saxony port authority Norden
Lower Saxonxy port authority Ems-Dollart, branch Norden
Island community Juist

Coastal engineering

Harbour planning

Approval procedures

Hydraulic Engineering

The municipal harbour Juist, which was built during a sand dredging in 1981, is located in the central area of the island’s backbarrier tidal flats near the town centre and hence offers ideal touristic opportunities. From a hydrodynamic viewpoint, the chosen location near the tidal watershed is very unfavourable because water exchange processes and thus the potential transportation capacity within the tidal regime are extraordinarily weak, for which reason this area is characterised by permanent sedimentation. The competent port authority’s approach to optimise the safeguarding of sufficient water depths in the community harbour formed the basis for developing the idea of complementing the harbour by an eastern enclosure.

Making use of the experience gained during the maintenance of Juist port very close by, IMP performed exploratory initial surveys which enabled an estimation of transport processes. One result was that through construction of an eastern breakwater the concentrated transport drift into the harbour area during high and extreme sea level events could be significantly reduced.

Later on, these results lead to a design developed by IMP which included enhancement to the touristic offers while adhering to economic targets. The idea of an eastern breakwater with an integrated marina, promenade and a prominent building at the breakwater head was born: the “Sea Bridge Juist”.

As a basis for project implementation, IMP was commissioned to perform hydrological and morphological measurements. Results of these comprehensive measurements enabled an estimation of sedimentation potential inside the planning area and to forecast future maintenance work necessary for the port. Concurrently, IMP was responsible for management and coordination of the project of preparing the documents relevant to the application for the planning approval of the construction work taking place in direct proximity to the Wadden Sea national park of Lower Saxony. The planning approval procedure was conducted on behalf of the island community Juist, and IMP afterwards accompanied the execution of construction work by participating in project control.

The breakwater “Sea Bridge Juist”, which was completed in 2008, is accessible on foot through the promenade and has visibly improved the touristic offer of Juist.

The viewing platform at the end of the breakwater forms a prominent end point and has turned into a landmark of Juist. The integrated marina is largely separated from the community harbour by a surge protective barrier and currently provides space for 163 recreational crafts; during planning it was however already considered to enable an extension of the marina’s capability to up to 212 berths. The forecasted sediment deposit has been largely confirmed by the developments within the harbour area. Implementation and continuous updating of the necessary maintenance strategy as well as execution of maintenance measures are carried out on site.