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In the final decision to build the North / South line, the Amsterdam City Council had proposed 2011 as the year of opening. Finally, July 21, 2018 is the date on which the public can use the line.
Not only was the planned end date soon exceeded, but also shortly after the start of construction of the subway line on April 22, 2003, the estimated cost of $ 1.4 billion was met. euros would be exceeded.
But none of the problems surrounding the new subway line attracts the imagination as the sinking of the monumental buildings on the Vijzelgracht. He made sure that the families leave their homes in a jiffy because it went wrong during the work in the underground, meters underground. "Inside there were strange noises, it creaked and squeaked," says Wolbert Vroom. owner of three of the collapsed buildings. "You heard the house really suffer." His architectural firm was on the ground floor and the houses above were rented to families.
Griezelfilm
Vroom ate a little further when things went wrong on September 10, 2008 in the early evening. van de Vijzelgracht he decided to take a look at his buildings. "I immediately saw that it was bad and my desk was set back. The sound of the sagging house was as loud and strange as in a horror movie, but I think I am too down to earth to be afraid of such a situation. 19659002] After his wife insisted, the architect decided to leave the "dying house" anyway. He did not have the open door any more; went too far. Eventually, he managed to leave the building from behind. A few hours later, the inhabitants of the Vijzelgracht houses 4 to 10 were desperately in the street. They were no longer allowed to enter their home. Officials and police fell off the street
During work on the Vijzelgracht, a leak occurred in the sheet piles of one meter deep. The concrete panels did not connect properly. When an attempt to restore it went wrong. The underground water was sprayed into the subway tunnel and caused the ground to collapse beneath the buildings. Moments later, several houses collapsed on the canal, including Vroom's buildings. In some places, the houses collapsed 25 centimeters into the ground
Mess
"From 2002, we started to notice the heavy work seriously and there were soon huge machines who seemed silent. "In two years, it was no longer possible, we had become crazy about the persistent noise, the burdens were deposited in the people who lived or worked here."
"Everyone was terrified of drilling in the old city," said Tjeerd Herrema, who at the time was politically responsible for the North / South line. "Such a leaking sheet pile did not appear in any risk book, and despite all the preparations, it happened twice."
According to Herrema, there were also major problems that were not technical in nature. "When I started in 2007, this whole line turned out uninsured, and if something had gone wrong before, Amsterdam was fully responsible, and at the beginning of the project, they thought that it was too expensive. "
Overestimation
Herrema is finally the only driver who has resigned for the North / South line.Not because of the subsidence of buildings on the Vijzelgracht, but because he had to announce in early 2009 that the project had been delayed and became more expensive.
"There was an overestimate of own capabilities and an underestimation of the risks "it explains all the problems around the North / South line." In a project that takes so long, the founding fathers play a different role, sometimes even they tackle problems, because They caused it themselves, everything was solved with time and money. "
The municipality also sees subsidence as a black page in construction. "After all these overtaking and each postponement, the moment that went wrong with the Vijzelgracht is an absolute low point," says Michel Jonker, spokesman for Metro and Tram in the podcast of NU.nl . "After that, the city had to scratch its head and wonder if we should continue."
In 2009, a committee led by former Minister Cees Veerman examined how the construction of the line could be improved. "The committee has concluded that if the municipality stops, the city eventually has nothing and you have lost the same amount of money," recalls Jonker. "Veerman advised us that during the recovery of the city, the city should have the risks in order and especially that the communication with the city had to be improved, it allowed us to find the line in 2010."
Relieved
Architect Vroom's office quickly moved to another temporary location after the collapse. "It was a bit of a relief somewhere," he looks back. "We could finally get away from the brothel here on the Vijzelgracht."
Tenants went to hotels at the expense of the municipality. Despite all the problems, the architect is very satisfied with the way the municipality acted. Six months after the collapse, he sold the buildings to Stadsherstel and, after renovation, he rented the offices of the municipality. In 2012, after a few years, his company returned to "Vijzelgracht" on the Vijzelgracht.
Since the beginning of 2018, he seems much better on the Vijzelgracht. Near the entrance to the new subway station Vijzelgracht numbers 22 and 24 remind us of the slump of ten years ago. The buildings are always empty. The properties are for sale, but potential buyers are put off by the likely high costs that add up to the purchase price. Peeling paint betrays late maintenance.
The large construction pit gave way to a spacious walkway with trees and benches. Passersby can get a Vijzelgracht history lesson through a row of information boards. All the developments of the last fifteen years have been described on the panels. Even at low points, there is a lot of attention.
Vroom is satisfied with the way the Vijzelgracht is again. He saw earlier this week on a neighborhood drink that local residents are particularly relieved that it's over. "It has happened a lot over the years, it was a big mess, the houses had to be tight, and it took three years, but it was well managed and it was like that I did it again September 2008. "
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