Brussels Mobility has just submitted a request for a permit to renovate and make safe the Belliard and Loi tunnels, the newspaper La Dernière Heure writes. The planned works consist of a complete renovation, without any change in traffic, and should last more than 2,5 years with 15 months of night closure and five months 24 hours a day.

In 2016, after a concrete block had fallen on a car in the Rogier tunnel, the Brussels government announced a 15-year renovation program for the 26 road tunnels in Brussels, most built between 1950 and 1980.

The tunnels suffer from concrete rot, have outdated electromechanical installations, and are equipped with signaling and escape routes that no longer meet current requirements.

Renovation works and new exits

The works in the Loi and Belliard tunnels, infrastructures considered as priorities, consist of the treatment of the dilapidated civil engineering structures, pavements, and drainage network.

Also scheduled: the creation of new emergency exits (four additional ones, bringing the number of exits to twelve), the renovation of the ventilation and lighting system, and the installation of sound absorption panels.

Due to the works, the entrance to the Belliard tunnel, the second longest in Belgium at 2 100 meters, will change somewhat. The emblematic brownstone structure will be demolished and replaced by barriers.

No final decision has yet been communicated for the Joyeuse Entrée/Blijde Inkomstlaan access at the Cinquantenaire park. Now the entrance to this tunnel, which plunges under Schuman to emerge in the Loi Tunnel, a branch of the Belliard tunnel, has been closed to traffic since 2020 following the creation of bicycle lanes on the Rue de la Loi.

Five months of total closure

Generally, the worksite should last more than 2,5 years and be phased with different schedules. The schedule, which will be refined, provides for about 15 months of night work and night-time closure, with five months of total closure 24 hours a day in quiet periods.

That this will cause traffic disruption is already beyond doubt. The Belliard and Loi tunnels are major traffic arteries for those wishing to leave the capital toward the E40 highway and Tervuren, respectively.

According to La Dernière Heure, which quotes the regional administration, the start of the works depends on the delivery of the permit and the government’s agreement to launch the call for tenders to designate the company. If everything goes according to plan, the permit should be issued in early 2023. If all the procedures go smoothly, work could begin in early 2024.