In Antwerp (Belgium), BESIX and BESIX Infra - as part of the TM ROCO consortium - are working on the Right Bank sub-project of the Oosterweel Link. This large-scale infrastructure project includes, among other things, the construction of a sunken Ring Road and the Canal Tunnels. Time for an update!
The Bypass is taking shape
At the Merksem viaduct, TM ROCO is making great progress with the construction of the Bypass, the temporary motorway that will accommodate traffic once the viaduct is demolished. No fewer than 100 pillars and 915 beams are needed for this impressive structure. Each beam has an average length of 30 metres and weighs 50 tonnes.
The last northbound pillar will be installed at the end of March, after which the focus will shift to the pillars in the other direction. By the end of 2025, traffic heading towards the Netherlands will use the Bypass. Once that is the case, demolition of the existing viaduct will start. In its place, Antwerp will have a lowered Ring Road with traffic travelling partly underground. The Ring Road will be maximally covered, freeing up space at ground level for new parks and green spaces.
Last Sunday, 16 March 2025, the TM ROCO team reached a major milestone, as the imposing arch bridge was moved to its final location. This was an amazing engineering feat, as the bridge is 150 metres long, 25 metres wide and 23 metres high. It has a total weight of about 2,800 tonnes.
Concrete works for the Canal Tunnels started
An important milestone was also reached in the construction of the Canal Tunnels at the end of February 2025. Having begun construction of the construction platforms in the Albert Canal in May 2024, the team has now also started the concrete works for the tunnels. In total, TM ROCO will construct 4.7 kilometres of diaphragm walls reaching to as much as 60 metres in depth, the deepest point of the Oosterweel Link works. The diaphragm walls allow the creation of a dry construction pit in which the tunnels can be constructed and stabilise the groundwater level both inside and outside the site zone.
The concrete for these works comes from an own concrete plant, which was commissioned last year. This minimises transport distances and limits site traffic on public roads.
Together with the Oosterweel interchange and the Scheldt Tunnel - on which BESIX is also collaborating - the Canal tunnels form the missing link that completes the Antwerp Ring Road. They consist of four tubes, stacked in pairs. Both leave at the Amerikadok and run under the Albert Canal, after which they split with each pair continuing in a different direction.
TM ROCO comprises BESIX, BESIX Infra, Jan De Nul, Cordeel, DEME, DENYS, Van Laere, Franki Construct and Willemen Infra.