Royers lock by night seen from the Royers bridge

The Royers lock (Dutch Royerssluis) is a tidal

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

located in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, giving access to the right bank docks in the

Port of Antwerp The Port of Antwerp-Bruges is the port of the City of Antwerp. It is located in Flanders (Belgium), mainly in the province of Antwerp but also partially in the province of East Flanders. It is a seaport in the heart of Europe accessible to ...

and the

Albert Canal The Albert Canal (, ) is a canal located in northeastern Belgium, which was named for King Albert I of Belgium. The Albert Canal connects Antwerp with Liège, and also the Meuse river with the Scheldt river. It also connects with the Dessel� ...

. Although it was built for sea-going vessels, it is now mostly used by

riverboat A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury un ...

s. The construction of the lock started in 1893 and was finished in 1908. The lock is long and wide. The operational depth (TAW) is . The lock was built to accommodate the extension of the docklands towards the north. Both the Bonaparte lock (Dutch: bonapartesluis) and the Kattendijk lock (Dutch: kattendijksluis) would not be able to cope with the growing traffic and the increasing size of new ocean ships. The lock is named after the Antwerp city engineer Gustaaf Royers (1848–1923). The lock has three sliding gates constructed out of steel with caissons that allow to take

ballast Ballast is material that is used to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within a boat, ship ...

. The gates slide on a system of rollers on rails at the bottom at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the lock and disappear into special storage chamber or recess built into the sidewall of the dock. After a gate closes, it is ballasted with water and has to deballast before it opens again. There is one gate at each end of the lock and one in between (100 meters from the lower gate). The middle gate had to allow a faster turning time but the gain was very little so the gate was put out of service. For the first time, electrical engines were used to operate the gates. Road traffic can always use at least one of the two bridges. The Royers bridge (Dutch royersbrug) is on the side of the river

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to ...

. The Lefèbvre bridge (Dutch Lefèbvrebrug) is on the side of the Siberiadok, originally named Afrikadok in 1887, but during the Cold War renamed to Lefèbvredok and now part of the Amerikadok. To prevent association of the name Siberia with the USSR during the cold war, a new name was chosen after Théo Lefèvre, who was prime minister of Belgium at the time. The Royers bridge consists of a road deck on top of the gate and a lift bridge on top of the storage chamber. When opening the lower gate, the bridge is lifted to about 15° to allow the gate to slide inside the storage chamber. The original Lefèbvre bridge has been replaced and now consists of the road deck on top of the gate and a rolling bridge accessible from the sides, to cover the storage chamber.

References

{{coord, 51, 14, 26, N, 4, 24, 05, E, region:BE_type:landmark_source:kolossus-nlwiki, display=title Locks of Belgium Buildings and structures in Antwerp