Afsluitdijk

A 30 km dike that cuts the North Sea entrance in the northern Netherlands, in an area called Zuiderzee. Once a saltwater dam, it became a freshwater lake they called IJsselmeer. They used cubic meters of sand and morainic materials and up to 5000 people worked on the construction. Today, it overrides the A7 motorway and its parallel bike channel. A railway that was proposed as part of the initial plans was never built. This resort has a number of locks for vessels to pass through, as well as to evacuate water from the lake. There is a staging area where you can admire this marvel of engineering,