If the end result is a great road that can last for years, you can live with it. But the latter is not always the case. Anyone traveling from the Netherlands to Belgium has probably already wondered why the road works took so long and barely two years later the road shows ruts again between the Dutch border and Turnhout. Road works in Belgium take on average much longer than at our northern neighbors. Replacing kilometers of asphalt is a matter of a weekend in the Netherlands. Replacing a bridge, including demolishing the old bridge, closing the highway for up to 48 hours to get the job done. 

That often goes differently in Flanders. In most cases, road works take months to more than a year. Our roads are on average very heavily loaded, which means that road works are continuously required. Often the sewerage system also has to be renewed, which means that the entire road and foundation must be broken down and then completely rebuilt, which is much more work than renewing a layer of asphalt. There are always reasons why the work takes longer than normal, such as the weather conditions, discussion about additional work and mistakes made by the contractor himself.

Then there is the problem of the contractor and the Belgian bureaucracy. The shorter the term of the work, the higher the contractors set their price. Contractors take into account their schedule, which is often too full with multiple sites at once. Hiring machines can therefore be done for several sites at the same time and cranes or asphalt machines do not have to be stationary, but must be used in as many places as possible at the same time. The inconvenience for residents is often very great. The house is not accessible for months due to sewerage works in the street, in short a nightmare for shopkeepers and residents.

Also read: After yet another accident, the bridge in Assenede is really on the way

asphalt machine
asphalt machine
after closure
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