Flanders to build Belgium's longest cyclist bridge near Nato

Flanders is financing what will be the longest cyclist bridge in Belgium on the Brussels periphery at Boulevard Leopold III, close to the Nato and Eurocontrol headquarters.

The 700-metre bridge will also be accessible to pedestrians, Bruzz reports, allowing people to cross the avenue between Zaventem and Machelen from April 2024.

The Werkvennootschap, which coordinates the works on the Brussels ring road for the Flemish government, placed the largest section of the bridge earlier this week. Further construction is expected to cause some road closures in the area until mid-December.

“People used to get here mainly by car, but in recent years the Flemish government has been putting a lot of effort into building new cycle paths,” said Marijn Struyf of the Werkvennootschap.

The project comes as part of heavy investment from Flanders into more and better cycling infrastructure, particularly along the Brussels ring road.

The bridge will be part of the Ring Cycle Path FR0, making it easier for cyclists to commute between Flanders and Brussels.

A budget of €11.7 million is planned for the bridge, “but in total we will invest a total of €300 million in 115 kilometres of cycle paths,” Struyf told RTBF.

The bridge also forms a missing link in the route of the future Ring cycle path between the Chaussée de Haecht (N21) and the Woluwedal (R22).

The hope is to encourage alternative mobility among the staff of the many companies that have set up in recent years on the border between Flemish Brabant and the Brussels region.

With a width of seven metres (two-metre cycle paths in each direction plus a separate three-metre pavement for pedestrians), the bridge will also link up with Boulevard Léopold III and tram line 62, which will provide a link to the airport by 2029-2030.