Antwerp offers free toll trips to reduce congestion
04 November 2019
by Christopher Carey
Testing has started on a new smart tunnel diversion service that aims to reduce heavy traffic congestion in the Belgian port city of Antwerp.
The scheme will offer users of the Be-Mobile traffic app and BMW’s navigation system a free pass through the Liefkenshoek tunnel (normally €6 for cars and €19 for heavy goods vehicles) to relieve pressure on the toll-free Kennedy tunnel during peak times.
Antwerp has only two connections for motorists across the River Scheldt, both underground tunnels, due to the need to keep the river open for water traffic.
The Kennedy tunnel is one of the busiest routes in Flanders, with 160,000 vehicles passing through it each day–the Liefkenshoek tunnel takes just 40,000.
Peter Bruyninckx, spokesperson from the Flemish Department of Transport told Cities Today: “We’re really hoping that as many partners as possible will register and take part in the trial so we can get a good overview of how it could work.”
During the pilot, motorists with an itinerary through the Kennedy tunnel will be offered an alternative route through their navigation system, and, if accepted, will receive a digital voucher for a free trip through the Liefkenshoek tunnel.
The decision on what times to activate the voucher system will be taken by the Flemish Traffic Control Center, which will monitor traffic in the tunnels based on real-time traffic measurements.
When asked about the extra emissions emitted by cars taking the detour, Bruyninckx said: “We already have so much queuing and congestion [at the Kennedy Tunnel] that this is already a big problem; cars are just not moving.”
The construction of a third underground tunnel, the Oosterweel link, is due to start early next year and is scheduled to open in 2026.
“This is a huge infrastructure programme that will have a massive impact on congestion, but it is not due for a while so we have to act now,” added Bruyninckx.
The smart diversion pilot is part of the SOCRATES 2.0 programme, an EU funded public-private initiative that promotes the introduction of traffic management and navigation services across Europe and funds projects in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Munich.
Plans to reduce the environmental impact of traffic in Antwerp–by fully enclosing the ring road to keep particulate matter out of nearby neighbourhoods while creating green space on top of the tunnels–has been shortlisted for a EUROCITIES 2019 award, with winners due to be announced in Prague on 26 November.
