Oosterweel: left bank entrance to new Scheldt tunnel is ready

The entrance to the new Antwerp Scheldt tunnel on the left bank is ready. It is a colossus of 85,000 m³ of concrete and 19,000 tons of steel. After more than three years of preparation and intensive construction work, the essential parts of the Scheldt Tunnel are ready.

Everything is prepared now to place the eight tunnel elements, which will be transported one by one from their construction dock in Zeebrugge.

‘Unique operation’

“A complex yet unique operation,” says Raymond de Kroon of the TM COTU contractor consortium. Each element weighs 60,000 tons, is 160 meters long, 42 meters wide, and 10 meters high, and will be transported over water using pontoons and tugboats. Transport takes about 30 hours per tunnel section.

Once in Antwerp, the tunnel elements are placed in a ‘waiting dock’ in Doel before being sunk individually. The first such operation is currently scheduled for July 4th. By the end of the year, all tunnel elements should have been sunk to their final location in the Scheldt.

Simulations

The timing for transport and sinking is crucial and depends on weather and tides. For example, only two monthly moments are considered for sinking, namely at ‘neap tide’ when the difference between high and low tide is the smallest. Shipping traffic must also be stopped for 24 hours at a time.

“We use advanced simulations detailing the journey to prepare for these conditions. Skippers train in these simulations on maneuvering and navigating through these factors and on crisis management, communication, and cooperation,” de Kroon explains.

Technical masterpiece

“The result will be a technical masterpiece that we, as Flemish people, can be proud of,” concludes Flemish Minister of Mobility and Public Works, Annick De Ridder (N-VA). The finishing will then take several more years.

Once the Scheldt Tunnel is completed, another part of the Oosterweel connection will be ready, making the Antwerp Ring Road completely circular.

Smoother and safer traffic

The Scheldt tunnel is a crucial link in the Oosterweel connection. The new tunnel connects both banks of the Scheldt and thus helps to close the Antwerp Ring in the north of the city, together with the Oosterweel interchange and the Channel tunnels. As a result, traffic to and along Antwerp should become smoother and safer.

Cyclists should already be able to pass through their tunnel tube in 2028, and road traffic will follow in 2030. The Scheldt Tunnel will be 1.8 kilometers long and, with two times three lanes for road traffic, will have the same capacity as the Kennedy Tunnel.