Constructional aspects of the civil works for the storm surge barrier at Chioggia Inlet – Venice Lagoon (Italy)

The civil works for the protection of Venice Lagoon from storm surges – commonly known as MOSE Project - represent one of the most important coastal engineering project of the last decade. The MOSE is an integrated system of works for the protection from flooding of the Venice Lagoon articulated in many interventions carried out inside and outside the Lagoon aimed at increasing the environmental and urban resilience of the whole involved area. The storm surge barriers described herein are only a part of the complex system built. The present paper describes the constructional aspects of the civil works executed for the flood gate barrier at Chioggia Inlet. Attention is given to: (i) the description of the dry dock for the large reinforced concrete barrier and shoulders floating caissons construction; (ii) the complex procedures of floatation, transport, ballasting and immersion of the caissons within the inlet channel under strong tidal currents and with very restrictive tolerances, supported by advanced technologies including the analysis of potential motions of the floating caisson at various stages of installation; (iii) the novel forecasting system of meteoceanographical parameters developed to ensure the safety of the towing and installation operations.