Fair warning: Traffic snarls this weekend

It’s a holiday exodus this weekend, as kids spent their last hours in school today. From now until late Sunday night, drivers should expect traffic snarls on all motorways as residents head to the coast, as well as in all other directions, either on their way to France or Germany or to destinations beyond.

Many holidaymakers in those countries are also expected to add to traffic woes as they come to holiday destinations in Belgium or cross through the country on their way elsewhere. The traffic is not expected to ease up following normal rush hours, so residents who do not have to take to motorways or regional roads are advised against it.

Anyone planning to head out in the car on holiday this weekend will find the least traffic between midnight and 6.00 – though even then, there will be intrepid travellers.

The next wave of travel is expected on the weekend of 13-14 July, when all of the above will also be the case. As for the weekend in-between: Residents anywhere near Brussels are warned to take to public transport from 4-7 July, when the Grand Depart begins in the capital.

And then there are the roadworks, of course, which include the 24/7 closing of the Leopold II tunnel in Brussels, the E34 between Turnhout and the Netherlands starting on 12 July, the E19 in the area of Mons and ongoing delays on the E40 between Liège and Brussels.

The mother of all awful travel days, according to motoring organisation Touring, is Saturday, 3 August. The golden rule: If you are taking off in the car for the holidays, try not to do it on a weekend.

Photo: Nicolas Maeterlinck/BELGA