Major works on Craeybeckx tunnel in Antwerp started

Major renovation works on the Craeybeckx tunnel on the E19 highway started on Sunday evening in Antwerp. The tunnel will receive LED lighting and a new ventilation system, and the high- and low-voltage installation will undergo a complete overhaul.

Disruption will be limited to evenings and nights, and the work will last a year. Consequently, the Craeybeckx tunnel will be closed toward Antwerp from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., Sunday evening until Friday morning, until February. Afterward, the tunnel tube will be turned toward Brussels.

Detour via the A12

Therefore, it is best to detour via the A12 over longer distances from Brussels to Antwerp. Locally, a diversion is provided via the Wilrijk exit and then the R11 toward the N177/A12.

During the summer, it is impossible to take the slip road to the R1 or drive toward Antwerp city via Elisabethlaan (N173). This is because the N173 dead-ends at the junction with Grotesteenweg (N1).

In February 2025, the works will move to the tunnel shaft in the direction of Brussels. Once again, traffic will not be able to pass through the tunnel in that direction during the (night-time) works. Longer-distance diversions will continue via the A12 and locally via the Singel or Vogelzanglaan to the N177 and R11.

If everything goes according to plan, the 1,600-meter-long Lode Craeybeckx tunnel from 1981 should be fully completed by July 2025.

22 major tunnels

The Agency for Roads and Traffic is currently undertaking a large-scale renovation of the Flemish highway tunnel—see also the Leonard tunnel. Flanders has 22 major tunnels, most from the 1960s and 1970s.

Six tunnels are on the trans-European transport network (TEN-T), and an average of 590,000 vehicles, including heavy international freight traffic, pass through the various tubes there every day. Given the rising traffic volume and the latest standards regarding safety, technology, and sustainability, renovation works and adjustments are pressing.