Oosterweel connection
In Antwerp, work has started on a temporary highway that will accommodate traffic when the Merksem viaduct is demolished. The number of lanes in the direction of the Netherlands will decrease from four to three at the beginning of March.
Parallel to the Antwerp Ring, a so-called “bypass” is being built as part of the Oosterweel connection. This temporary highway must provide a solution for traffic towards the Netherlands from 2025. Then the Merksem viaduct in the direction of the Netherlands will be demolished. The other direction of travel will be next year. “This is an important measure to minimize traffic disruption during the works,” says Annik Dirkx, spokesperson for client Lantis.
The bypass will run between Antwerp East at the junction of the Antwerp Ring with the E313 and Antwerp North at the junction of the Ring with the E19 and A12. The preparatory works started today. The construction of the bypass itself will start on March 11. In the direction of the Netherlands, there will no longer be four but three lanes from the Sportpaleis and the speed will be limited to 70 kilometers per hour. “We are talking about more than 100,000 cars per day, obviously there will be longer travel times,” she says.
As of today, the Vaartkaai is closed in both directions between the Bredabaan and the Kotterstraat to be used as a construction road and construction zone.
Accessibility
Dirkx is convinced that in recent years maximum efforts have been made on alternatives to prevent nuisance. For example, in the context of the Oosterweelwerf, there were already investments in cycling infrastructure and the provision of public transport,” says the spokesperson.
But the Treintrambus travelers association is concerned about accessibility. “This will be a project that will take years. With all that work and the site traffic that comes with it, you have to offer travelers an alternative. There has been insufficient anticipation of this,” says chairman Peter Meukens. He is pushing for more public transport. According to Dirkx, Lantis tries to keep site traffic out of regular traffic as much as possible through self-constructed site roads or transport via water.
The bypass will be realized in parts. By the end of 2025, the temporary highway towards the Netherlands will be put into use and the first part of the old viaduct will be demolished. The two directions of the northern bypass should be completed by the end of 2026, after which the next part of the viaduct will be demolished. The eastern bypass must then be completed.
The Oosterweel connection must completely close the Antwerp Ring. Oosterweel will be partially put into use from 2030. “Antwerp will undergo a metamorphosis,” says Dirkx. “The viaduct will have disappeared and the Ring will be covered as much as possible. We will not see such a large project again in the coming years.”
