Boulevard Clovis, a street to the north of Square Ambiorix, has been a partial building site for years now. Now, the end of work to make the area greener and safer is finally in sight.
The renovation work on the residential street in the centre of the "Quartier des Squares" is scheduled to end on 30 April, the office of the City of Brussels Councillor responsible for Town Planning and Public Spaces Anaïs Maes (Vooruit.brussels) confirmed to The Brussels Times. The street will be inaugurated at the end of May this year.
While the latest redevelopment works on the boulevard only started in October 2022 – meaning the City is still within the proposed deadline of 250 working days for the project – the street has seen major works going on for the past four years.
Modern street
In 2019, Belgian railway infrastructure manager Infrabel had to renovate the railway tunnel under Boulevard Clovis, which meant demolishing the entire street. These works entered their final phase in April 2021.
However, the City of Brussels saw this as an opportunity to carry out a completely new reconstruction project, to turn the grand avenue into a modern street with green areas linked by a green promenade with dozens of trees and benches located on it. The idea was to create a place where people can "meet, relax and play".
Illustration image of what the transformation would look like (the simulation no longer fully corresponds to the licensed plans). Credit: City of Brussels
The façade-to-façade transformation, including wider pavements, better lighting and cycle paths, is now in the final phase. "Everyone wants to see this beautiful street without any work. I can already reassure them that the result will be worth it," Maes told Belga News Agency. The budget for the reconstruction was around €2.3 million.
Initially, the reconstruction project was met with a great deal of opposition, particularly during the public enquiry (which saw 680 comments being voiced, especially regarding the central promenade in the middle of the road). The Royal Commission on Monuments and Sites was also unconvinced by the redevelopment plans.
However, Maes' office noted that, since then, they have not received any communication with negative reactions or petitions against the reconstruction. "On the contrary, the worksite has gone smoothly."
