Fewer lanes on E40 into Brussels from next week

The number of lanes on the E40 motorway approaching Brussels from Liège will be cut from six to four from the end of this week.

The lane reduction was first announced in 2016, when it was described by motorists' association Touring as "madness", and had been on hold since.

Brussels mobility minister Pascal Smet said the region had waited until renovation work on the Reyers tunnels had been completed before going ahead with the lane closure.

"The last tunnel will be ready this weekend," he told Bruzz. "The narrowing will lead to better traffic flow, because there will be fewer weaving movements."

Traffic heading into the city will merge from six lanes to five just after the Cora Woluwe exit (Avenue des Constellations), and down to four lanes near the RTBF on the approach to the Reyers tunnel complex.

A spokesman for Touring said: "It seems the Brussels mobility minister is trying to push things through before the elections. The danger is it will be done in a haphazard way."

Flemish mobility minister Ben Weyts is also not happy: "What kind of cooperation is this?" he asked. "We have repeatedly agreed that if we were to go ahead with this project, we would do a pilot run first."

In the longer term, the Brussels region plans to transform the end of the E40 motorway into an "urban boulevard" with a 50kph speed limit and with separate green space for cyclists and pedestrians.

Photo: Eric Lalmand/Belga