Huge crowds due to several incidents in the Antwerp region: « Traffic has been completely stopped in many places » (Antwerp)
The motorways around Antwerp turn red on Monday afternoon on the maps of the Flemish Traffic Center. « It is actually very busy for hours, » says Peter Bruyninckx of the traffic center. « We actually had to deal with one incident after the other. Most have been resolved in the meantime, but due to the crowds, traffic has actually stopped in many places. »
In the late afternoon there was an accident with a car and a truck on the E19 from Breda near Antwerp-Noord. The road there was released again around 3.30 pm. « It is half an hour extra from the parking lot in Brecht, » says Bruyninckx. « Once on the Antwerp Ring, it is once more traffic jam until Antwerp-East. A road of 12 kilometers, where you currently lose about 45 minutes. » (Read more under the video)
But also on the E313 from Limburg in the direction of Antwerp, there was a collision between two vehicles. In the meantime, the road has also been cleared again. « The fact that the accident has been dealt with does not solve the traffic jam. It is currently still for fifteen minutes in the direction of Antwerp. »
And at the same time there was also an accident on the E34 from Turnhout at Oelegem. The emergency services are still on the spot there. A person had to be freed by the fire brigade. Two lanes were blocked. There too, the road is recently (3.45 pm, ed.) released again.
On the A12 there was a lot of traffic jams due to a serious accident in Wilrijk. – © Frank Boelens
« And in addition, we have also had a few defective vehicles. Because of all those incidents, it is now completely stuck in many places. And that while the evening rush hour is starting to swell. That means that it will not be resolved immediately at the places where those accidents happened. In fact, we all drag this into the evening rush hour. »
Serious accident
What worsens the situation is a serious accident on the A12 from Brussels to Antwerp on the Viaduct in Wilrijk. « That happened a little before 16 hours. There is hardly anyway there. On camera images we see that a truck is in scissors and that there is a vehicle with caravan clamping between the tractor and the concrete road closure of the viaduct, » says Bruyninckx. It was not immediately clear whether there were injuries, but according to Bruyninckx it will be a complex handling and it may also take a very long time.
« The emergency services no longer leave the traffic at the height of the IKEA. Everyone who drives there must turn to the parallel road. That is the N177, but it has only two lanes and traffic lights. It is therefore particularly difficult. »
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“We really call on everyone to take the E19 if you want to go from Brussels to Antwerp. Also there it is difficult at the end because of the crowds on the Antwerp Ring, but it will go more smoothly. Try to avoid the A12 absolutely. And preferably also the parallel road, because that is an absolute bottleneck.
Evening rush hour
And if that wasn’t enough, it may become even busier. “Usually the peak of the evening rush hour is around 5.30 pm. Currently (around 4.30 pm, ed.) So it is still growing. The traffic jams are mainly on the routes to Antwerp, on the E19, the E313 and the A12. That is actually from all directions. If you have to pass in the Antwerp region, check the traffic information and take delays into account. ”
