Average-speed checks will not be introduced on the temporary motorway alongside Antwerp’s ring road, known as the bypass.
Later this month, the full length of the temporary route is due to open. It starts in Borgerhout, passes the AFAS Dome and ends in Merksem.
The bypass is intended to keep traffic heading towards the Netherlands moving while the ring road is completely rebuilt as part of the Oosterweel works.
To help keep traffic flowing safely and reduce noise, project developer Lantis had planned to introduce average-speed checks once the bypass was fully operational. According to Lantis, the system was needed to prevent incidents and long tailbacks on the busy route.
That plan has now been dropped, a spokesperson for the office of Flemish Mobility Minister Annick De Ridder confirmed. The decision fits the minister’s new policy of using additional average-speed checks more sparingly.
“It has also not yet been proven that this stretch of road is unsafe,” the minister’s office said.
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De Ridder did, however, leave open the possibility of further measures if incidents occur regularly on the bypass. She said traffic would be closely monitored and that the necessary provisions had been made to act if safety required it.
In a reply to Flemish MP Stephanie Vanden Eede of Vooruit, De Ridder said authorities could still intervene if needed. Lantis said one option now being considered is the installation of a conventional speed camera along the bypass.
