Consortium De Groene Boog is constructing a new energy-neutral motorway between the A13 at Rotterdam The Hague Airport and the A16/A20 at Terbregseplein. The 11km-long A16 Rotterdam ensures that traffic on the A13, A20 and surrounding local roads will soon be able to flow more smoothly. The new connection contributes to better accessibility, and the quality of life in the region.
The Scheldt Tunnel forms the most important element of the Oosterweel Link and will complete the Antwerp Ring Road on the northern side. The tunnel has a total length of 1,800m and will be constructed in line with the “immersed tunnel” method. In order to do so, 8 tunnel elements of around 60,000 tons each will be constructed in the Rear Port of Zeebrugge and then floated via the North Sea and the Western Scheldt to Antwerp. There, they will be immersed one after another in a previously dredged trench in the Scheldt.
The project involved construction of a third and fourth railway track between Ghent and Bruges. Two major rail traffic flows converge here: on the one hand, the freight traffic that goes from the port of Zeebrugge past Bruges and Ghent-Sint-Pieters towards Merelbeke, and on the other hand the passenger traffic on the Ostend, Bruges-Ghent-Sint-Pieters and Brussels axes. On peak days, more than 300 trains a day run between the stations at Gent-Sint-Pieters and Bruges.
In the Rotterdam port area, the Havenspoorlijn (port railway line), the first part of the Betuweroute, will be constructed. The new route, the Theemswegtracé, will be completed in 2021 and will solve the problems at the Calandbrug near Rozenburg.
The Lek canal connects the River Lek with the Amsterdam Rhine canal, thereby forming an important shipping connection between Amsterdam and Rotterdam. The monumental Beatrix lock, with its two gullies, formed a bottleneck on this connection because of the increasing number of ships and the dimensions of modern-day pusher tugs. Rijkswaterstaat decided to build a third lock chamber to ensure that waiting times for shipping remained acceptable.