Antwerp Waasland tunnel only for local traffic from September

The Antwerp Waasland tunnel, the oldest vehicle tunnel under the river Scheldt that connects the city with the river’s left bank, will only be available for local traffic from September 23rd. The city of Antwerp decided this on the advice of the Roads and Traffic Agency (Agentschap Wegen en Verkeer, AWV).

Soon, through traffic will no longer be welcome. Only those who need to make a local trip to the other bank of the Scheldt from the left bank (Linkeroever) or the city center are allowed to pass.

‘Except for local traffic’

Signs ‘except for local traffic’ will be placed on both sides of the tunnel. Through traffic will have to use the Kennedy Tunnel or Liefkenshoek Tunnel to cross the Scheldt. “In this way, we want to relieve the residents of Linkeroever from through traffic, and we also hope the tunnel will be less heavily loaded,” says Stefanie Nagels of AWV.

The Waasland tunnel, popularly known as the ‘rabbit’s burrow,’ is Belgium’s second-longest road traffic tunnel after the Brussels Anny Cordy tunnel. It dates back to 1933 and no longer meets modern requirements for a frequently used road tunnel.

It has only one lane in each direction and needs a thorough renovation, but this may have to wait until after the Oosterweel connection has been completed. Otherwise, traffic disruption would become too great.

No fines

Through traffic will have to choose the Kennedy tunnel or Liefkenshoek tunnel to cross the Scheldt. The new Scheldt tunnel of the Oosterweel connection should also be ready by 2030.

However, fines will not be issued. “We do not intend to monitor actively,” says Antwerp Alderman for Mobility, Koen Kennis (N-VA). “We just want to discourage people from driving through the tunnel. GPS systems such as Waze and Google Maps only respond if we make streets ‘except for local traffic’. So we do it this way because we want to impact those navigation systems,” Kennis concludes.

Long-term closure of the Waasland tunnel for thorough maintenance only seems feasible once the new Scheldt tunnel is in place, but preparations are already being made.