New Strömkajen

In the autumn of 2009, the Ports Authority of Stockholm commenced the improvement and repair of Strömkajen, which is both a street and a quay on the southern shore of Blasieholmen Island in Stockholm.

Located along the quay are the Grand Hotel, well-known restaurants, the Swedish National Gallery, and, at its end, the bridge over to the Skeppsholmen island, which leads to the floating hostel af Chapman and a number of museums. All this along with its position opposite the Royal Palace and the Old Town makes Strömkajen an important part of Stockholm’s face to the world. Subsidence along the shore The present foundations were laid in the middle of the nineteenth century. Unfortunately, land rising has gradually resulted in the substructure, which consists of piles and reinforced wooden beds, to end up far above the low water line. As a result, the fine old quay has started to decay from below and gradually subside. Vacuum system buried in new culvert In conjunction with the renovation works the quay was equipped with a vacuum system, to handle waste from the boat traffic from Stockholm’s Archipelago, Grand Hotel, Bolinderska palatset and 14 public self-emptying litter bins. The repair works the quay will lead to a lowering of the quay by 50 cm, and a broadening of a few meters. It will also be equipped with an underground gallery, which will later house fuel tanks, sewage water cisterns, grease separators and the subterranean pipes used for the vacuum waste system. Five inlets along the quay In-coming traffic will dispose of its waste in any of the five inlets located along the quay, the Grand hotel and Bolinderska palatset in four indoor inlets. For the visitors there are fourteen self-emptying litter bins along the quay. The waste is transported in a pipe network by a under pressure (partial vacuum) to a waste collection station placed in a concrete caisson buried at the far end of the quay adjacent to the Skeppsholmen bridge, opposite the Nationalmuseum. Lift table for waste containers Once the container is full and needs to be replaced by an empty one it is raised to ground level using a lift table and is then removed by an ordinary refuse container vehicle. In its low position the waste collection station is not visible at all, and traffic can drive over it without any problems. The vacuum waste system was Inaugurated The inauguration of the vacuum waste system was held June, 2014, by Ulla Hamilton (M) Vice Mayor in Stockholm of that time.