Delta-plan

   Project consisting of the construction of dams and bridges in the Meuse and Scheldt estuaries. The plan itself was con ceived during the 1930s, but construction began only after the storm tideand flood of 1953. After all, not all river mouths were yet closed with dams. The Eastern Scheldt got a storm surge barrier in 1986 to protect the saltwater environment. It is one of the most admired struc tures in the world, as is the Maeslant barrier (1997), a movable bar rier that can close off the New Waterway near Rotterdam. The Wester Scheldt is still open. Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, however, can be reached by a tunnel since 2003. The Delta-Plan has opened the whole province of Zeeland and has shortened the Dutch coastline by 700 kilometers (435 miles).