Shortening the coastline where technically possible
Numerous dyke plans developed by the Zuiderzee Vereeniging preceded this design by Cornelis Lely et al. After this plan many more appeared before construction started. Lely was not only an inspired engineer, he was also a shrewd politician. During World War I, he was Minister of Water Management, and from that position he manoeuvred the Zuiderzee plans through parliament. The 1916 flood disaster had made the need for intervention crystal clear, and despite great shortages, the plan for the Afsluitdijk was agreed to in 1918. In 1891, coastline shortening was already at the heart of the plan, only at that time it was entirely impracticable from a technical point of view. Realised in 1932, the Afsluitdijk remains a truly stunning feat of engineering. The plan was implemented more or less as envisioned in 1891. Owing to fierce resistance from the environmental movement, reclamation of the Markermeer was prevented. Safety is a common argument for reducing nature. Not much is left of that nature and today half a million people live there.
J. van der Toorn & C. Lely, Ontwerp tot Afsluiting der Zuiderzee over Wieringen met gedeeltelijke indijking binnen die afsluiting, (Design for closure of the Zuiderzee over Wieringen with partial embankment within that closure), The Hague 1891. Coll. S/T F.59, 91,5 x 63 cm.
