The Kennedy Tunnel on the Antwerp Ring is closed to traffic heading towards the Netherlands following an accident, the federal police announced on Thursday morning.
The accident happened after a lorry fell on its side with its trailer across the carriageway. There were no injuries in the accident, but it has caused serious and ongoing disruption to traffic.
“We had to close the tunnel completely, the barriers are down,” said Peter Bruyninckx of the Flemish Traffic Center. “Hoisting a truck lying on its side in a tunnel environment is not obvious and thus an operation of longer duration. People have now been able to pull the container forward a bit and fortunately nothing is leaking out. The tunnel infrastructure would not have suffered any damage either.”
At the level of the accident itself, one lane has been temporarily cleared to allow traffic stuck behind it to pass by mouth. The highway itself, however, remains closed for a while. Traffic on the E17 will be forced to leave the highway at Zwijndrecht, from the E34 the police will allow traffic to detour via the Linkeroever slip road to the underlying road network. But those who need to get to Antwerp’s Right Bank actually have no alternative at that point and so have to choose another route much earlier.
The Flemish Traffic Centre reports that the Liefkenshoek Tunnel, which usually requires a toll, is temporarily open for free passage.
