Scheldt Tunnel, Belgium
A tunnel closing the ring road
TM COTU, a temporary partnership, is realising the Scheldt Tunnel. This tunnel under the river connects Left Bank with the port and Eilandje. Together with the Kennedy tunnel and Liefkenshoek tunnel, it forms the third connection for motorised traffic between both banks of the Scheldt.
The 1.8 km long tunnel has three lanes in both directions with an escape tube and a separate six-metre-wide bicycle tube in between. The latter also allows vulnerable road users to cross the Scheldt safely without having to detour via the Saint Anna Tunnel.
Thanks to the finalisation of the Antwerp Ring Road, we are reducing traffic pressure in the Kennedy Tunnel and removing cut-through traffic from the city centre.
8 tunnel elements in numbers
Did you know?
- The bicycle tunnel will be the longest of its kind in Europe. Besides the Saint Anna Tunnel, it will be the second place where cyclists and other vulnerable road users can cross the Scheldt underwater in Antwerp.
- We are giving space back to nature. The Saint Anna Forest on the left bank had to be partly cut down to create the access to the tunnel. At this location, we are freeing up space for mudflats and salt marshes, which help prevent flooding.
- When dredging for the tunnel trench in the Scheldt, we brought up a cannon. It is said to date from the time of Napoleon and is being investigated further.
Scheldt Tunnel in detail
The Scheldt tunnel constitutes an engineering feat. In fact, the size of the project calls for two construction sites. The site zone of the tunnel itself and a construction dock where the tunnel elements are built are as much as 80 kilometres apart as the crow flies.
We build the eight tunnel elements in Zeebrugge in a specially constructed dock. Each element is unique, as the tunnel will not follow a perpendicular route under the Scheldt. That is why each element is slightly curved. When the tunnel elements are ready, they are sealed watertight and we let the dock fill up. We then tow the elements through the port of Zeebrugge, across the North Sea and Westerscheldt to the port of Antwerp. In between, we pause the transport in Zelzate and the Doel dock. A journey of no less than 117 kilometres.
In Antwerp itself, we prepare both Left Bank and Right Bank with locally built tunnel sections, between which the tunnel elements fit. To build these sections, we dewater the soil, dig to a depth of 25 metres below ground level and then start construction.
Before that, we temporarily closed the Scheldt dike on both banks. After the works, these will be reopened to the public. Although on the left bank it will be further inland, because there will be mud flats and salt marshes between the dyke and the Scheldt. This will give the river more space and the areas behind it protection from flooding.
In the Scheldt itself, we will dredge a trench in which the tunnel elements will find their final home. In this way, we maintain the draught for the largest sea-going vessels. We accompany each tunnel element with four tugs and a pusher to the right location. There, we sink the elements so that they fit together. We pump out the water and finish the tunnel further.
By 2030, the first traffic will be able to drive through the tunnel. The cycle tube will be accessible as early as early 2028.
