Design of the Ax/A11-motorway: balancing the interests of ecologically important areas, local citizens and the port of Zeebrugge

To optimize road access to the Port of Zeebrugge the Ax-project was set up: a new highway A11 will be built connecting the harbour to the E40 and E34 motorway. As the port is adjacent to one of the oldest and purest polders of Flanders, environmental impact is to be considered carefully. Part of the landscape and buildings are protected heritage, or protected habitat areas for avifauna. The A11 will cross railways, a navigation channel, secondary roads, pipelines of national importance and fragile hydraulic systems. Two Interchanges and one exit/entrance complex in the harbour are to be built. Several “feasible” alternatives with bridges and or tunnels were tested. A methodology was established to rank alternatives. Using an integrated design approach a solution was found in designing a partly subterranean highway. The design includes more then 60 civil engineering structures. Among them a movable bridge, two approach viaducts, and tunnels.