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Minister presents three scenarios for Leopold II tunnel
A decision on the method to carry out the works on the Leopold II tunnel in Brussels will be taken in September, Pascal Smet, mobility minister in the Brussels regional government, told the parliament’s infrastructure committee. Plans for the renovation of the country’s longest tunnel had been expected by the summer recess.
The tunnel, which runs for 2.5 kilometres from Place Rogier to Avenue Charles Quint behind the Koekelberg Basilica, was started in 1979 and came into service in 1986. It is now in need of repair, and Smet announced three possibilities for the duration of the works:
• complete closure for the duration of works. This option would cause the most disruption, but is the fastest method to get works done
• restrict works to nights, public holidays and weekends. Disruption would be limited, but the works would last much longer
• close the tunnel in one direction at a time, with the other used for city-bound traffic in the morning and for traffic leaving the city in the afternoon. This option would cause less disruption then a complete closure and take less time than an evening/weekend schedule
Details on when the works would start or how long they would take in any scenario have not yet been released.
Photo by Christophe Ketels/BELGA
Comments
Interesting, but a bit of a Goldilocks piece of public policy.... These public works will take a long time, these other public works will be faster, and these will be just about right. Ok, how are we supposed to judge which option is the best if there is no estimate of how long these works will take?
The same type of scenario was proposed for the restoration of the Palace of Westminster - but there the authorities had the wherewithal to actually stipulate timings - as they knew the British public would demand such an estimate.
In Belgium, we just plod along ....
What happened to the renovation of the Palais de Justice which has been under scaffolding since at least 1978. A competition, nothing ever done, it is an eyesore, another project which never was started, never completed, and just languishes. The Reyers Bridge has not been functioning for 6 months and still nothing has been done. Now another project and doubt it will ever get started or completed. FINISH ONE THING BEFORE YOU START DISRUPTING EVERYONE ELSE ON SOME OTHER PROJECT.