Justus Dirks was an immensely important Engineer of his time and his name crops up wherever Dutch Naval Engineering and Canal Engineering is mentioned. As the plaque mentions, the existence of the North Sea Canal, which feeds water into the Netherlands, is largely due to his architectual ingenuity as Lead Engineer. There are many other canal structures in the Netherlands and abroad he was involved in. He took part in the congress to build the Panama Canal, he worked on overseas assignment in Belgium, Denmark, Chile, and gave advice on the project to double the capacity of the Suez Canal. This monument was erected in his honour and stands at the entrance to the North Sea Canal at IJmuiden in the Netherlands.