Background information:
Dike cuts are openings in dikes, usually finished with a stone or concrete retaining wall at each end of the dike. The function of the dike denomination is to allow a road or railway line to cross the dike without the road or railway line encountering slopes. This is better for road safety and easier for agricultural vehicles, trucks, buses and especially trains. An important detail is that a dike cut undermines the dike's water-retaining function. That is why the stone walls are often provided with slots in which beams are placed when high water threatens. At that moment, traffic is no longer able to pass through, but in those cases the area outside the dykes has often already been flooded.
Architectural details:
Although there are also dyke cuts with doors, the technique with beams is the most common. And these are by no means always small buildings from a bygone era. The largest and also a very modern specimen can be found at Culemborg. Built around 2010 and about 70 meters wide, hidden in a viaduct, the A2 motorway intersects with no less than 10 lanes the Diefdijk. Here, too, the method is with (concrete) beams, which are hoisted on the A2 when high water threatens. The Markenburg dike cuts are of the more mundane dimensions, but technically identical.
Vehicles on the pictures are not included.
