The first tunnel element for the new Scheldt Tunnel, which left Zeebrugge on Friday, arrived on Sunday in the port of Antwerp. The 160-meter-long, 42-meter-wide, and 60,000-ton colossus made a journey of more than 100 kilometers across the North Sea and the Scheldt, floated by four tugs and a pusher.
It now remains “parked” in the Doel dock until it can be sunk in its final place in the Scheldt, off the Sint-Anna Forest.
Waiting for the dead tide
The whole impressive operation took more than 24 hours; also, because a few stops were made, for example, in Terneuzen to wait for high tide to sail more efficiently.
“The passage across the North Sea and the bends in the stretch of the Scheldt were the most complex, but everything went quietly and perfectly according to schedule,” said Jan Bauwens of the TM COTU contractor consortium that is constructing the Scheldt Tunnel on behalf of Oosterweel construction owner Lantis.
The tunnel element, not much could be seen of it since 9,5 of its 10 meters in height were invariably underwater, now lies in the Doel dock where it is waiting for the appropriate moment until it can be sunk into its final place in the Scheldt. This is another millimeter job, and can only be done twice a month, at dead tide.
The tunnel section of the Scheldt Tunnel leaves its home port in Zeebrugge for the first time /Lantis
Still 7 to go
A total of eight tunnel elements are to be transported from their construction dock in Zeebrugge to Antwerp this year. That is by no means an obvious operation, especially on a capricious tidal river like the Scheldt. For example, the tunnel elements contain ballast tanks filled with water, allowing them to rise and fall during departure and arrival.
In the coming weeks, three more sections will be brought from Zeebrugge to the port of Antwerp. This is because only four tunnel elements can be parked in the Doel dock at a time.
The new Scheldt Tunnel, between the Left Bank and the future Oosterweel junction in the north of the city, should finally make the Antwerp Ring Road truly complete. The tunnel is one of the crown jewels of the Oosterweel link, a massive project aimed at helping to untangle Antwerp’s mobility bottleneck while improving livability for residents.
The Scheldt Tunnel consists of two tubes for car traffic, an escape tube, and a six-meter-wide bicycle tube. Cyclists would already be able to pass through the tunnel tube in 2028, and road traffic in 2030. The entire Oosterweel link is expected to be completed by 2033.
