Civil engineering works on the Montmacq – Cambronne-lès-Ribécourt lock, the first lock on France's Seine-Nord Europe Canal, continued through the summer of 2026 in the Oise department.
The Société du Canal Seine-Nord Europe (SCSNE) said earthworks at the upstream lock head were completed early in the summer.
Concrete placement for most of the base slabs and the first lifts of the lock walls followed in July and August. The chamber's diaphragm walls were built between December 2025 and February 2026.
The lock has a useful chamber length of 195 metres and a width of 12.50 metres. It will accommodate pushed convoys of up to 185 by 11.40 metres with a three-metre draught and up to 4,400 tonnes of cargo. Its lift is 6.41 metres, and a complete cycle will take 30 minutes. The lock replaces the existing Bellerive and Longueil-Annel locks.
A consortium of eight companies led by Bouygues Travaux Publics Régions France holds the principal works contract, which is worth nearly €96 million.
The 107-kilometre canal will link the Oise with the Dunkirk-Escaut Canal by 2032. It replaces the Canal du Nord connection, raising capacity from 650 tonnes to 4,400 tonnes.
SCSNE forecasts full-length transit traffic of 12–13 million tonnes annually within five to 10 years of opening. The Canal du Nord currently carries 2–3 million tonnes, according to SCSNE. The project's target cost was reassessed to €7.3 billion in early 2026.
On the lower Seine, a separate access channel at Le Havre is being built to give barges direct terminal access.
