Pilot Project Witzelsdorf

The section between river kilometres 1893.4 and 1891.7 has for a long time been one of the most heavily obstructed sections along the entire Danube. In addition to the armoured stone blocks that reinforce the riverbanks, there was a longitudinal structure (training structure) and eight transverse structures (groynes) located along less than two kilometres of the riverbank. However, this riparian section, which is not directly exposed to the flow of the river, offered the ideal conditions for riverbank restoration and the testing of innovative groynes in an optimised form and arrangement. The construction was carried out between November 2007 and May 2009. Since then, the test results have been collated and evaluated within the framework of scientific monitoring.

Within a short time, an ecological high-quality riverbank area was created and erosion of the riverbed was significantly reduced in the section concerned. In 2015, based on the evaluation results, a moderate increase in the height of the training structure and the groynes in the project area was carried out in order to impede any undesired sedimentation in the fairway and create a balanced state for the riverbed.

The Pilot Project Witzelsdorf was co-financed by the European Union within the framework of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).