Belgium: R1 Antwerp Ring Road

The R1 / E19 Ring Road of Antwerp (Antwerpen) in Belgium. This is the busiest truck route in Europe.

[@Zalenskiii]

A12 = a highway and a shopping street in one

[@paulvalck349]

The TGV-railway which connects Amsterdam with Brussels and Paris runs beside this highway (right hand side). High speed train Rotterdam - Antwerp at 300 km per hour. Cab ride: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b4fQaZKiatSsm5Y The part that corresponds with this video of the highway starts at timestamp 20.00 approximately.

[@joen507]

Nice video! More videos from Belgian motorways please, they have improved a lot and now have a really good pavement quality and clear layout (except for some sections that are due to be renewed soon)

[@joey84]

No they not lol

[@ballist5102]

@@joey84 yes they are

[@domeniquekee9026]

Ben je nederlands

[@schwenda3727]

Thought the crown for the highest AADTs in Europe would’ve went to somewhere in Paris or Moscow instead of an inner loop with 8 thru lanes in a couple portions… But given the vids I watched so far, I increasingly believe that Belgium is the Oklahoma in terms of roads compared to its neighbors or Illinois in terms of everything in general (from bad roads, questionable competency in at least their DOT, the geographical location alone playing a primary enough role in continent wide transportation, and a noticeable amount of political say from even a continental standpoint). Am I at least seeing that comparison clearly?

[@ryanewaldu4292]

you're kinda right, in Belgium you have 6 goverments, always infighting till the date comes due and than its compromising, this is why at the heart of EU politics, compomising culture work really well for 26 EU countries , but kinda slows decisions on hard desicions, the road ur seeing has been in the talks for since the 90's, only until a few years ago have they finally agreed ( they compromised by scrapping the original plan that included a big bridge and made it tunnels for more green space and parks) and cleared 10 billion euros.

[@newmanchester8504]

As a person who has been to an unknown village in the Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium, known as Flanders, the R1/ E19 Ring Road of Antwerp is a nice autoroute to drive your car on. Seeing the speed limit of 100 km/h (60 mph) on the electronic overhead gantry speed limit signs, it looks like it is one of the safest autoroutes in Belgium. I heard from someone that European drivers are the most discipline drivers in the world. They put a lot of effort in driving, very good at lane discipline and they don't do all the crazy things that people in the USA are doing. Crazy things like road rage, eating food behind the wheel, checking emails on smartphones, cutting people off on the autoroutes and other insane American things that I can't talk more about. European drivers know how to use a three-lane autoroute correctly. Also if you overtake a car in the overtaking lane, and never return to the slow lane by stay in the overtaking lane, that is called lane-hogging. France is very, very strict on that. The punishment is not a good thing. Then you have speed camera to catch people doing things that they shouldn't be doing and speeding. When it comes to driving on the motorways, autoroutes and autobahns of Europe, the laws are very, very strict and you have to be on your Ps and Qs. Getting a driver's license or driving license, buying a car and taking a driver's test is a very expensive process. But all in all, it is worth it to have the privilege to drive on the roads in Europe. One more thing. Belgium and Italy have very, very bad roads, roundabouts are better than traffic lights and road signs are easy to understand. I never eat and drink behind the wheel of a car. If I wanna drink a bottle of Perrier, I pull into a rest area along a major autoroute.

[@ballist5102]

They improved very much especially those last 2 years now they have the same standard as dutch or german highways

[@GreatAussieDrives]

Great video! Looks like a very high quality motorway. Thanks for sharing!! 👍

[@travel-athome6075]

I hope you are joking. The roads in Belgium are officially declared even worse than in Namibia

[@Johndemaes91]

number 1 shitty highway of the world, every 3 months i need to change my suspension

[@govaert7]

@@travel-athome6075 In some parts of the country you can find some roads and highways that are in a dire condition and yes we don't have the smooth quality of asphalt like in the Netherlands. But overall compared to 10-20 years ago things have improved a lot and will improve more in the future of Belgian roadways.

[@gromit3315]

@@Johndemaes91 ik denk dat er eerder iets mis met je rijstijl 😄

[@erikpannemans2865]

At this moment, thé most dangerous ringroad in Belgium. A horrible drive! With way too many trucks.

[@diogorodrigues747]

The music is the same as in another video in Spain (I think it's the one of Vigo's Ponte de Rande, but I have to confirm).-

[@fernangalicia93]

Yes, it's the same music 🎶 And the roads aren't so different to the Spanish os Portuguese roads.

[@의식주FCS]

Awesome 💙 I enjoyed it 👍

[@krisvancotthem8103]

In frankrijk is lyon het probleem ,in belgie de antwerpse ring .te druk Slechte doorstroming.

[@LegendzComboApe1993]

Doe dit eens om 7 uur s'morgens in de week ;) Dan praten we verder :D

[@giloises]

Passing you at 4:40, that's me! Light grey car. Groetjes!

[@MrNicetux]

At Niel lives my wifes brother. It is nice there, i like it to visit Belgium.

[@gromit3315]

Niel is famous for its steenbakkerijen.

[@imim9759]

👍👍👍

[@mjm9002]

Altijd file, slechte wegen.

[@ballist5102]

Waar zie je slechte wegen maat

[@fernangalicia93]

Great video! My dad was in Belgium 25 years ago and he says that was ugly, and he didn't enjoy really anything. Just a question, when are you going to make videos in Portugal? I think that Portugal is one of the most beautiful countrys in Europe, specially in summer.

[@EuropeanRoads]

I'd love to go to Portugal again. I've only been there twice in the border area with Spain. Portugal is definitely on my list.

[@mchlnlmns]

A quarter of a Century ago... Cities change.

[@paulteelen4285]

@@mchlnlmns but Belgium doesn’t 😉

[@saladspinner3200]

@@paulteelen4285 actually it did and stil does... Alot.

[@ballist5102]

@@paulteelen4285 it did alot

[@DrivinginCatalunya]

Nice video again, thanks for sharing!!

[@porirvian8457]

Wow. Most of the old highway lights have disappeared....

[@Christian-ox7qx]

Hahaha I always thought I was the only one who recognised such details! When I was a child we used to go to France for the summer holiday. I remember the old lights and signs (and bad pavement) very well!

[@leopodinaamaral4271]

Excelente vídeo e música

[@MsJantje666]

I was literally about to comment I wished my commute home was like this when the congestion info showed up.

[@cat5636]

It's terrible during rush hour

[@janhoed3856]

Vanaf Antwerpen tot de belgische kust is het een trieste bedoening . Op de weg en ernaast !

[@vwgti3414]

It seems all trucks in the world need to pass Antwerp...the dutch & french are the worst/arrogant drivers...germans most polite ones....

[@ExploreVancouverCanada]

Awesome road trip...in time-lapse?

[@emilyboakyeyiadom8570]

I am in Antwerpen Belgium

[@richardkrolopp8228]

Blame on you 😡

[@Zenio1983]

clearly sunday morning... there was no traffic, this way i love the R1, on weekdays during rush hours i hate it lol

[@johann428]

Really nice video as always! what happend to your rostock video that you uploaded a few years ago.. i wonder what the song in that videos name was..its been in my head ever since =) best regards.

[@Drago1995]

i approve the choice of music 💎💎👍👍

[@brainwells6634]

Love to see a American Pickup truck In Europe

[@paulteelen4285]

Only the Belgians write Bergen op Zoom as Bergen-op-Zoom. No idea why 🤔

[@EuropeanRoads]

Probably French influence. They also write Sint-Job-in-'t-Goor. In the Netherlands a place like that would be written without the dashes.

[@n01-o7y]

U kun de ring 0 Brussel filmen? Vous pouvez filmer le ring 0 de Bruxelles?

[@MikeRo19]

Nooit geweten dat de A12 ook naar Brussel ging. Ik nam altijd de snelweg er naast langs Lier, Mechelen,Brussel

[@Zemike69]

De A12 was ooit de enige snelweg naar Brussel maar is grotendeels een autoweg nu, met vele kruispunten en rode lichten. Vanaf Boom kan je het eigenlijk pas écht autosnelweg noemen(ondanks nog 2 keer rode lichten in Breendonk en in Londerzeel).

[@wernerpohlmann]

My road to the Port of Antwerp.

[@yombizdravko]

Keep its up my friend new friend here

[@damonhynes]

True Faith!

[@Matz32]

Nice

[@miliziametallica]

busiest? have u ever been in turin, milan, rome, genova?

[@cat5636]

Trust me, the R1 during rush hour is the busiest.

[@davidhanacek2565]

Máte hezké dálnice v zahraničí

[@roadsexplore]

Hi, thanks for sharing it, indeed a very busy route, and with no possibilities to add more lanes. Drove it a few times mid-June, as I spent 5 days in Antwerp and drove quite a bit in the region.

[@EuropeanRoads]

This road often has congestion throughout the day. There used to be plans for an R2 to go all the way around Antwerp as a second beltway, which would've solved a lot of the problems.

[@paulvalck349]

@@EuropeanRoads Those plans are becoming reality! The constructionworks of the "Oosterweel Link" started in 2020 on the left bank of the river Scheldt. The whole project should be finished in 2030! There is a large impact on the environment and the population living in the city of Antwerp and its districts, the most populated area in Belgium (530.000 people). It will be one of the most expensive projects in this country. Recently by PFOS polluted soil has been discovered during the construction, causing environmental en political issues. The daily congestion of the present highway is due to the presence of the port of Antwerp, a gateway to the European continent, the fact that many people work in the harbour and because this highway connects the north and the south of Western Europe: Norway / Sweden - Denmark - Netherlands - Belgium - France - Spain / Portugal. I was six years old when the present highway was constructed and nobody could imagine this would become the busiest road in Europe! If you want to know more about the "Oosterweelverbinding" or "Oosterweel Link", click the given link. The TGV-railway which connects Amsterdam with Brussels and Paris runs beside the highway (right hand side). Nice video which will soon be a time frame and a souvenir. www.oosterweelverbinding.be/oosterweel-link

[@paulvalck349]

@@EuropeanRoads High speed train Rotterdam - Antwerp at 300 km per hour. Cab ride: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b4fQaZKiatSsm5Y The part that corresponds with your video of the highway starts at timestamp 20.00 approximately.

[@ryanewaldu4292]

@@EuropeanRoads its in the works for decades, only now the project, Ringland, has started the works and is one oof the biggest infrastructure works in Europe, 10 Billion euros, but typical belgian style, very late, might be till 2025 for 1/2 to be done and till 2029 for it to be complete.

[@Lay-On]

Nice and almost no traffic at this time!

[@waldogadellaa]

On Weekdays it is heavily congested

[@davidhanacek2565]

Myslím všeobecně

[@Tamaramag89123]

👍❤👍

[@z.weertje7209]

I'm Dutch and drove my Smart car there. I fell in a hole with my little car and got stuck for 27 hours!

[@jerome2022]

Sunday in Atlanta is like Monday there

[@Christian-ox7qx]

People are not as car-dependent in Belgium as in the States. If this stretch of highway were to be in the US, it would have been far more busier

[@EuropeanRoads]

277,000 vehicles per day is busier than I-285 and almost as much as the Downtown Connector.

[@govaert7]

@@Christian-ox7qx Compared to let's say Denmark and the Netherlands, Belgium is quite more car-dependent then the aforementioned countries. Infrastructure for bicycle users is still not on the same level like the 'bicycle highways' of the Netherlands, and also public transport isn't doing much effort to reach out to the rural municipalities. So the majority of the people who live there use their car for their commuting and leisure. But let's hope in the future that will change, more and more people here are buying electrical bikes so there's definitely some mentality shift ongoing and on par with some investment to be made in our infrastructure!