Work on the rehabilitation of the Brussels ring road, from Braine-l'Alleud to Flanders, will start on Friday evening, according to the Mobility Department.
The works will be divided into several phases, including two weekends of total closure to traffic.
Subject to weather conditions, these will be from Friday 4 August at 10 p.m. to Monday 7 August at 4 a.m., then from Friday 11 to Monday 14 August at the same times, the Mobility Department announced on Tuesday.
Only the Brussels-bound lanes of the ring road will be affected.
One of the aims of the poject, in addition to resurfacing the road, which was in a very poor state of repair, is to transform the hard shoulder between the Mont-Saint-Jean and Waterloo exits (2km) into an interchange lane (for acceleration and deceleration) to ease traffic flow and avoid the current queue-jumping at peak times.
Exit 25 'Butte du Lion' will also be redesigned to soften its curve.
From 4 to 7 August, the ring road will be completely closed between the Genappe and Groenendael interchanges. On the following weekend, it will be closed between the Lillois/Braine-l'Alleud and Waterloo (Drève Richelle) interchanges.
The new surface will then be laid, and workers will be working around the clock.
Project officials say the two weekends of intensive work and traffic closures will make it possible to complete a project that could have taken around twenty days.
These major works, whose estimated cost is €3 million, are being carried out during the two-month school holidays to limit the impact on traffic.
An estimated 36,000 vehicles normally use this section of the ring road every day.
Diversions will be put in place during the various phases of the works.
