Inside Europe’s $7BN Megaproject

Fred Mills journeys inside one of Europe's most impressive (and lesser known) megaprojects.
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Full story here - theb1m.com/video/7bn-megaproj...
Research sources -
www.oosterweelverbinding.be/
www.besix.com/en/projects/oos...
www.arcadis.com/en-gb/project...
www.roadtraffic-technology.co...
www.reuters.com/article/us-be...
routeplan2030.be/routeplan2030/
www.eib.org/en/press/all/2021...
Additional footage and images courtesy of Lantis, ATV, European Commission, Raja Imran Khan, Roger Price / CC BY-NV-SA 2.0 DEED, Sony, Wwuyts / CC BY-SA 3.0 DEED and XKP Visual Engineers.
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#construction #architecture #infrastructure
0:00 Intro
1:24 Antwerp's Traffic
2:36 The Oosterweel Link
3:38 Masterworks
4:40 The Scheldt Tunnel
9:04 The Oosterweel Junction
9:20 The Canal Tunnels
9:50 Viaduct Demolition
10:41 The Price Tag
11:06 Route Plan 2030
11:54 The Lange Wapper
13:06 An Epic Build
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© 2024 The B1M Limited

[@TheB1M]

Skip the waitlist and invest in blue-chip art for the very first time by signing up for Masterworks 👉 www.masterworks.art/theb1m

[@grissee]

​@@OneEyedMonkey9000yes, it always works like that

[@lostcabrio]

Why is the channel called b1m? What does it mean?

[@cedvelt]

There is still no waiting list...stop with this fear of missing out shit please...love your vids

[@grissee]

@@lostcabrio B1M is a reference to a construction software called BIM (building information modellling)

[@FraserKillip]

This sponsor sucks, please ditch them and their predatory tactics

[@colinfurze]

we all love a tunnel.

[@powelsie5732]

This tunnel is sadly a better-kept secret than your tunnel project.

[@brandonchan4537]

Yes we do indeed!

[@TheGrace020]

REAL!!!!!!

[@queeg6473]

Hey Colin how about building an underground rollercoaster from your local pub back to your house.....

[@juliuscaesar7795]

get your own domestic river and sink a tunnel through it

[@Parakeet-pk6dl]

I was born, raised, lived and worked in Antwerp for my entire life, and I’ve have never known something else than “traffic is awful” in my city, to the point I can’t even imagine it would change someday. I’m really curious wether this whole project will work out 🙂

[@hskdjs]

When city decides to widen the roads, more people start using cars and here we go again. Never ending loop. There is no need for people to use personal cars in cities as the public transit systems can solve most of the transportation issues using much less space and much less money to build and maintain.

[@cianmcguire5647]

I highly doubt it will work. More lanes induce more drivers. It creates more demand and taps into latent demand. I honestly think it's a shame that this channel focusses so much on road projects which are not worth the money that is spent on them. It doesn't solve any issue, it only temporarily delays it. We already know this, the solution to traffic is not to make driving easier (which is never achieved anyways).

[@MrSSSamuelll]

Spoiler: It won't work. Just google Induced demand...

[@nekomasteryoutube3232]

It should, I mean other cities around the world like in the USA have done a elevated highway/roadway delete and replaced the thru connections with tunnels or new high capacity roads at ground level.

[@nekomasteryoutube3232]

@ElonMusk-eh5ni You mean a brick I can't use in an apartment because Canada sucks with plug in electrics?

[@rcbailey]

Find someone who looks at you the way Fred looks at prefabricated immersed tube tunnel sections.

[@MrDadyD]

Best comment of the week

[@Jeroen_Mastenbroek]

I worked at the company that made the concrete molds for this tunnel (Hendriks). I didnt do that much for this project (it wasnt mine project) but I did design the stairs you see at 8:32. Quite nice to find my own work at one of my faforite youtube channels.

[@KingLarbear]

That's so cool

[@FrVitoBe]

Xd hi there

[@drfisheye]

Looks like a fine stair!

[@LtdJorge]

What CAD/BIM software do you use for that?

Awesome stair, really special 💖💖😏😏

[@webbist]

"Nicest footage we could find" 😂

[@carholic-sz3qv]

i couldnt hold! i had to laugh!

[@dominikschramm6986]

I bursted out laughing, did so not expect that😂😂

[@zapfanzapfan]

Nicest weather we could find 🙂

[@BH6242KCh]

Always look on the bright side of life.....

[@666Tomato666]

well, the car wasn't stuck in traffic, so at least that's nice

[@Mo-kv9hg]

I am from Antwerp and this is the daily reality for me . Great job covering this.

[@carlosandleon]

isn’t it faster to use public transport?

[@hadiamrane]

@@carlosandleon Depends. There are many place where the bus drives on its own road, away from cars, but on the places where there are crazy amounts of traffic, there is no seperate bus road. The bus uses the same road as the cars, so you will eventually end up in traffic. You can take the tram/metro and skip all of the traffic, yes, but it depends if you need to be in the city of Antwerp or elsewhere.

[@yannickpeeters01]

​@@carlosandleonpublic transport isn't very great here, except trains. Maybe a tram can be faster but a bus won't. It's also quite expensive at €2,5 one way. Besides this a lot of people here get a car from their work with fuel included. More and more people are chosing to bike though.

[@GamingWithJesDep]

The Joy I feel when seeing a video about anything in Belgium. And for sure on an extraordinary KZbin Channel such as this. 🇧🇪🇧🇪

[@jaypeeters]

Was born and raised in Antwerp. I work in Antwerp... and Now I am a small part of the Oosterweel through my job. Very cool to see this video. You have no idea of all the 'little' side infrastructure jobs linked to this massive project that are going on to this day.

[@jarneboeckx1508]

this! I live about 5KM away from the ringroad and they repaved and straightend a bicycle tunnel as part of this project. The whole wide region is impacted by these works and all the little sideprojects that come with it.

[@danieljensen329]

I know €7B sounds like a lot, but here in the Northwest US, we're looking at that figure just for a single bridge. It's actually impressive the amount of public works Antwerp is getting for the price. At least from a US perspective.

[@fatman3785]

UK has spent £300m on a tunnel that hasn't even been started yet. And hasn't actually been finalised in design then approved..

[@selleryy]

One word: Belt Parkway😅

[@holygooff]

The actual costs will be much higher.

[@tetedur377]

Now tell them about how much money is spent over decades to "study" the problem of building a bridge. It's insane, and that money is almost never counted in reports that go to the public.

[@willsimp1273]

These numbers are faked by politicians. The real cost will be 10 times higher

[@Parakeet-pk6dl]

In addition to your excellent video: there’s not one huge park and ride, but instead a whole chain of those identical beasts built around the city, accompanied by large public transport hubs.

[@liamtahaney713]

If only anyone used it....

[@Parakeet-pk6dl]

It'll only be used as the Flanders government stops doing everything to ruin De Lijn...

[@lpt2606]

@@liamtahaney713 enkel als er iets te doen is int sportpaleis

[@dieterverschueren]

And not to forget that it's only 1 euro for a whole day!

[@diegorusso2824]

That are empty and no one use complete waste of money.

[@QueenetBowie]

For the New Yorkers out there, 7 billion Euros equates to about a quarter mile of new subway track being built by the MTA, or three MTA engineering impact studies

[@filanfyretracker]

good proof of why agencies like the MTA should have their own internal engineering and construction division. I am pretty sure when these contracts get drawn up the MTA is getting ripped off.

[@abowolewa]

😮😮‼️

[@holygooff]

Damn...

[@tetedur377]

Almost any major construction project here in the States requires decades and decades and decades of "study" and even then, seldom does anything get built. Somebody is making money, and the taxpayer is receiving zero benefit.

[@timgerk3262]

Surely €7 billion doesn't cover outreach, permitting, legal, and environmental clearance?

[@TheB1M]

Happy Valentine’s Day! We hope you all LOVE this video ❤😂

[@DeclanArambasic]

Happy valentine's day

[@brandonchan4537]

​@@momytikIndonesia? Hello from your neighbour Malaysia!

[@grissee]

​​@@brandonchan4537not OP but Indonesian too, hello neighbor 👋

[@orange42]

Audio issues with it.

[@Yxalitis]

"Belgium Waffle " very nice!

[@TheB1M]

You’re welcome 🧇

[@dannyhowarth1728]

Blue waffle

[@drfibonacci7570]

You'll not be surprised the concept of a 'Belgium waffle' does not exist _inside_ Belgium. It's either 'Brusselse wafel' or 'Luikse wafel' (Gaufre de Liège), they're not from Antwerp.

[@dieterverschueren]

@@drfibonacci7570 not to forget the 3rd option of the home-made waffles for November, which is totally different than the other 2. Cue "who can eat the most" family competitions 😇

Luikse are defo the way to go in my heart 💖💖💖 Also, if a foreigner mentions a waffel, he means the Luikse :) @@drfibonacci7570

[@dieterverschueren]

Maybe interesting to mention, the big hole they dug to build the tunnel elements will later serve as a shipping dock. That's why you could see those rubbers hanging from that 1 concrete side

[@kayh]

Thanks for the info. I was wondering.

[@RoelfvanderMerwe]

The seamless transition into that Masterworks ad deserves an Oscar😂

[@giokanaan9]

Surprised they're building so much new road infrastructure and tunneling with no added rail, I would've imagined cargo trains might be a big focus.

[@leonpaelinck]

This. Antwerpen doesn't need more roads. It needs less cars. And the only way is by giving more alternatives

[@Sevival]

The railway system around the port is already quite extensive and not at all near capacity so no need

[@Dilley_G45]

​@@leonpaelinckit's not the cars in europe that are the problem, it's millions of trucks. Bring back rail freight

[@hadiamrane]

This is not entirely true. The previous federal minister already announced back in 2021(?) that the freight cargo will be doubled. For that the minister invested a couple of milion to build more rails. This is the issue of Belgium: the rails are not part of what the Flemish government can invest in. That's the priority for infrabel, who is responsible for the roads. Nmbs (and another company, which the NMBS is shareholder of) is responsible for the trains and taking the cargo. But this is all the responsibility of the federal government.

[@bkrider19]

It has long been clear that building more lanes makes traffic congestion worse, not better. But it does accomplish something: it increases the sale of cars and oil and maintains those products at the center of the economy. Unfortunately videos supporting the auto-oil industrial complex are as commonplace as petrol stations.

[@sadjesse]

As an Antwerp'enaar I love how well you captured our beautiful city, well done good sir!

[@TowerGuy]

The opening shot is the Dutch town of Vlissingen. It's located on the same river as Antwerp, but it's over 60km from the Antwerp city centre

[@hondaspeed6785]

Yeah, and why is the dot for Antwerp on the map placed 15km east of the city? I think because on Apple Maps the label for the province 'Antwerp' is there.

[@TowerGuy]

@hondaspeed6785 seems likely. Kind of a stupid oversight since they actually were in the city to film this video, so they know the location.

[@pietpaaltjes7419]

Now I have to look of I can spot Michiel 😉

[@uranus330]

It's a fantastic project indeed, thank you for covering this! I'm glad it's being built, hower I have three concerns. 1. It's very car centric. In the long term, more lanes will make it worse for traffic. And the port of Antwerp will increase its trucks untill traffic is deadlock again, I'm afaird. 2. Projects like these work IF there are substantial investments in public transport. Our governments have failed to delivered on this one. 3. P+Rs are great IF people use public transport. Most of them remain empty. The city keeps building underground parkings which keeps incentivizing car journeys.

[@josdeklos]

Absolutely right.

[@marijn0716]

team fortress 2 engineer spotted at 5:32

[@thebbie-phams]

real

[@Melrieoi]

It's fucking wild

[@matrixbadger]

Excellent spot

[@ebridgewater]

"Whoooowee, would ya look at that!"

[@billx4266]

That engineer is a spaaah!!!

[@enigmadrath1780]

We live in the Netherlands but have family in France. Since one of my aunt's recently been in poor health my mom makes the four hour drive down to her in France once a month and she has to drive via/around Antwerp and EVERY TIME she finds herself stuck in traffic, no matter what time of the day or night she travels 😅

[@ivan-gy1jg9xv3e]

This tonel for your mom 😂

@@ivan-gy1jg9xv3e Let's hope she fits 😆😆😆 Sorry, had to make the joke 💖💖

[@lorenzoionita7164]

Taxes, Traffic on the antwerpse ring, death!!!

[@antoinamera]

Excellent video, but misplacing Antwerp on the map 1:34 is a little bit awkward 😅it's a few km to the left, you know, that strategic point where there's water

[@daninio5004]

They placed the dot on the spot Apple maps has the label for the Antwerp province... that's why...

[@Epic_Eggroll]

I'm incredibly thankful and super stoked that you've made a documentary about this!!! I didn't even know about this and I live in Flanders, near Zeebrugge. Absolutely insane and amazing construction! ❤

[@mauritsbol4806]

As a dutch person traveling south regularly, i commend this megaproject. Damn antwerp sucks with traffic

[@hobog]

Didn't Amsterdam overcome car expansions like this?

[@Croz89]

​@@hobogIn the case of Antwerp, a lot of the traffic are lorries going to the port. Amsterdam has its port infrastructure just outside the city, Antwerp has it right in the middle.

[@race_republik]

If the Dutch stayed home, the traffic jams around Antwerp would be reduced by one third 😂

[@leonpaelinck]

Yes because the ring is way too close to the city. Now they're making that ring even more important!

[@misterdavidov]

Nice to see you did a video of this great construction project in Belgium

[@florboelaert9725]

Finally! I was hoping for so long that you would cover this project. Glad to see my city represented on this channel 😌

[@PreshEhi]

I just love watching the B1M, I just sit back and marvel at various engineering masterpiece.

[@andrewday3206]

This reminds me of the Big Dig in Boston, Massachusetts

[@ErikPukinskis]

They should call it the Big Dunk

[@kindlin]

Boston also had their own Big Dig? Hi from Seattle. Our's had plenty of issues to go along with it too, lol.

[@iantrembirth6918]

It would be great to see updates on this, and other project The B1M has seen at the start, in the future to see how they are getting on, what unforeseen challenges they've overcome and whether they are sticking to the timescales talked about.

[@geoffreycoan]

Absolutely super project, Fred in his element with massive engineering. Brilliant B1M

[@JustRaiHere01]

Thank you, Fred! What an amazing project,

[@AsmirSut]

Before watching I was 100% sure this was going to be about the tunnel between Germany and Denmark

[@m.a.3324]

Happy to see your coverage of this !

[@GazMoby]

Very enjoyable as always 👍. Heading to Antwerp this summer so will be looking out for this.

[@aselwyn1]

love visiting Antwerp they have such an amazing train station too. excited to see this project completed and those new roads and parks being opened

[@DRIVECLUBistimelessPS4]

Mindblowing and amazing ! Love this channel for many years. Once again, a round of applause 👏👏👏😎

[@davidcottington5534]

Just a quick note to say I love the production values of your content - and I love the humor. Keep it up!

[@gardengeek3041]

Always admire how Europe preserves the best of the old in its cities, but still embraces ultra modern, all-inclusive transportation ideas. Imagine the reaction if transportation experts in North America had proposed bicycle lanes of this type.

[@pafkeslol]

I’m from Belgium but didn’t know anything about the engineering. Crazy how big the project actually is. Thanks a lot for this great video!

[@RazKino]

I was born in Antwerp and lived there many years. I've also been away from Belgium for the last 12 years, which means I haven't been aware of local news for a long time. I absolutely love this video and seeing the progress of the project, and it makes me proud and hopeful! But that traffic issue has been there MY ENTIRE LIFE!!! And I was born in 1984!!!! Based on my experience with Belgian traffic projects in the last 40 years, there is no way it will be ready in 2030 and it will definitely be more expensive than currently planned. That's just how Belgium functions. I HOPE this is different, but I feel quite certain once it opens in 2042, there will be many new issues that weren't planned for and the project will be hated by the entire country.

[@Oekedoelekens]

The linkeroever part finished ahead of schedule, all while having a very low impact on the current traffic flow. If you know how congested the area is, at every hour of the day, it really is no small feat

[@jascollinscork]

Unbelievable engineering job 🤯🤯🤯🤯

[@NoResultFound]

The marker for Antwerp on the map at 1:40 is incorrect. Antwerp is 15km ish to the west.

[@GRHMFTWHLS]

Indeed the marker is incorrect.

[@yonimortier]

As Antwerp city citizen I daily take the highways E17 / E34 (N49) / Kennedy Tunnel driving to my work in the Port of Gent. I'm always very excited to see this project evolving. It's astonishing how it's done, the coordination behind it etc. Just parts of bridges standing all alone in the middle of seemingly nowhere, you driving past it in a temporary bypass (which changes as well each few months). And this (for the part where I drive) WITHOUT any disturbance of the current traffic ! There's always traffic there, but not extra due to the works. Very proud & well done for all stake-holders ! 😁

[@joythought]

Your video work and script is just so good in this one and in all your recent work. Amazing.

[@jamesbuchanan8633]

Great to see Fred properly geeking out to something he genuinely loves.

[@dennis2376]

Way cool! Hopefully TheB1M will be around to show the final project. :) Thank you.

[@azeeuwnl1961]

Great video, thanks. And… good on you Belgium for undertaking this!🇧🇪

[@GeekyMedia]

I can't believe how much is going into this project. Wild stuff. Another great video B1M team!

[@iblueyiy]

another very interesting video. I have a video idea for you: There is currently a railway project in Slovenia that is managed by 2TDK. A video about this would be great

[@Felsane]

i remember as a kid when my dad was watching the news there was so much talk about the lange wapper bridge and how many people were against it. Good to see they found an alternative

[@lievepieve]

Yes, glad indeed. It was an insane idea. The bridge's design images looked nice and shiny, but it would:be turned a very nice city area into ugly desolation.

[@Deanamite]

Thrilled to share that I'm contributing to the construction of the bypass viaduct, a pivotal element of the Oosterweel Project, and I'm honored to play a role in its creation!

[@daninio5004]

I’m an engineering student at Ghent University (Belgium) and have been able to visit both construction sites (Zeebrugge and Antwerp) in depth... truly spectacular 😮

[@mfalle5032]

I drove through Antwerp about 10 years ago Paris to Amsterdam, I was in wall to wall traffic on the E19 not moving, got off and took the long way round on the R2. Probably didn't save me time but at least I was moving. I am from Toronto so I know traffic, Antwerp is pretty bad lol

[@timmermansj1300]

10 years ago, it wasn't as bad.. 😂 from Brussels to Antwerpen over E19 takes about 45 minutes. And then another 45 minutes till the city center. Last Sunday I tried to park in Antwerp. Eventually, I just drove back to Brussels because I wasn't able to find parking on a decent walking distance from the city center. 😅

[@tdyerwestfield]

If I wanted to reduce people making journeys by car by 20%, my first thought wouldn't be to build a massive new major highway system.

[@faustinpippin9208]

they will just outprice poor people out of cars like they do in other countries :(

[@saladspinner3200]

You have to if you want to cut journeys in and around the city because there's no direct route available.

[@fluitfluiten]

The problem isn't only the car traffic, but the massive amounts of cargo traffic from one of the biggest ports in Europe. On top of that it is 1 of 2 connections east - west (the other being Brussels, which is nearly as bad) and the main connection north - south within Belgium and between the Netherlands and France. In 2022 this single stretch of highway got on average 26.000 trucks in each direction per day. And it is only getting worse.

[@saladspinner3200]

@@faustinpippin9208 Those not willing to pay the toll fee, will still be able to use the old route. Which will also benefit from reduced traffic.

[@jamesengland7461]

A certain amount of car traffic is still necessary, no matter what.

[@mantrachhaya6835]

The effort and pace is glorious

[@mpm1204]

Great Fred! I’ve always loved learning about this type of tunnel. We had 3 of them in the Virginia Beach area when I was growing up: Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and Monitor-Merrimack Bridge Tunnel. The tunnel portions all used the method of floating sections out, then sinking and covering them. What’s really fascinating about this project is the effort to make it green by incorporating other places for people to leave their cars. Always enjoy your videos!

[@jakob5481]

Awesome video. Have you thought about doing a video on the big austrian railway tunnel projects that are currently under construction?

[@yousorooo]

5:30 The really put the TF2 engineer in the service tunnel

[@arneclaes7055]

I was born, raised and still live in Antwerp and thanks to this B1M video I finally understand what's happening in my city. Cheers B1M!

[@GilbertTV]

great video & ive sat on that ring road for many hours & look fwd to when its finished

[@jeroenhustings5319]

Great video once again! And on a city that I visit weekly. But I have to point out that you mistakenly indicated the city of Turnhout in stead of Antwerp in 1:42

[@Rosa_AI]

ayyy a video about my city! i live here! will follow up with a second post xD

[@cybercole777]

Definitive Video Channel for Construction indeed! As always, I absolutely love your videos. Thanks for the spectacular show of all these massive and amazing projects all around the world. To be honest, no one else does it better than the B1M. Cheers!

[@AXELVISSERS]

Been living near Antwerp since forever so the project will definitely impact my life, less congestion woohoo 🎉🎉

[@jonevansauthor]

Forget the tunnel, how did you float the 2030 sign at about 11:25 ? That's a great piece of engineering.

[@snowstrobe]

Good on them for adding a cycle lane, brilliant.

[@brosaus]

Would be a hell of a climb though to get out

[@ESnipezHD]

This channel is just on another level, unparalleled quality. Please keep it up 🙏

[@ProXy99]

I live there in Antwerp and use the ring road quite often. There is always traffic for as long I can remember. I can't wait for this project to be finished. It's just going to take a long time according to the expected schedule.

[@andrzejostrowski5579]

I wonder how much time will it take to get all stuck again. I imagine no more than 5 years after it’s opened, but only time will tell.

[@LucaZone]

Congrats on getting Belgium Waffle into the script! :D

[@david-reason]

But no mention of Beer or The Smurfs! "Light at the end of the tunnel" was a classic one, Fred.

[@Mr.Magnetix]

5:33 ayo who put tf2 engineer in there 💀💀💀

[@screamingbirdheart]

Can't wait till this project is finally finished. Hope to see you make a video about the rest of the 2030 initiative construction projects. With more depth and how every single project is interconnected with the whole scheme.

[@j_bo8727]

Fantastic video Fred and crew. The perfect mix of knowledge and humor

[@yurttgjk]

They should not stop on this project, next must be train link from Estonia to Finland !

[@Ipoop7colors]

As a Dutchy, Belgium and mainly Antwerpen feel like one big speedbump

[@jorisev]

Excellent video! There are also petrochemical (& other) plants all around the port area, which made it even more difficult to plan where to build it and whether it should be above or below the ground. Years and years of political debate, crossing over different governments etc. It's almost a miracle that it is now actually being built.

[@Jumbojet776]

I absolutely love that they included a bike path in the tunnels! That's pretty forward thinking and cool

[@MrStephen254]

You should make a video about Ireland's children's hospital, starting budget of €800 million but now at€2.2 billion, 8th year of construction, built in the capital's city centre and dubbed "Most Expensive Hospital in the World"

[@flowersofthefield340]

🙀

[@bertplank9892]

Be interesting to see if it's finishes before the globalists get their third world war up and running.

[@jobue394]

How many beds?

[@MrStephen254]

@@jobue394 533 beds total

[@mryan4452]

Judging from the complexity of this project, if someone said €70 billion here in Ireland for the total final cost rather than 7, I'd say, ye not totally unrealistic of what it might end up at.

[@mikus5521]

Cant imagine it costing only 7bn

[@wouterrombouts9347]

It will be much more in the end...

[@saladspinner3200]

Belgium has always been very cost effective when it comes to mega projects, often only costing a tenth of similar projects in NL or Germany.

[@TheMusicGuard]

It was originally a €3.6B project but because of inflation, interest rates and solving PFAS issue, it's now sitting at €7B.

[@TheRocco96]

It will have cost 2 or 3 times as much by the time it's finished. And in the 20 years it took to prepare for this project, 100's of millions were wasted on making plans, creating studies on environment and impact, getting permits, then the permits got revoked because of protests from activists, which resulted in the project having to start from scratch again, and this happened multiple times. Thru the years here have been plans for a Langewapper bridge, a Paperclip solution, the Bretellen solution, a plan to build a roof above the ringway, and finally the oosterweel tunnel.

[@Robinramakers]

I knew you would one day cover this project, I was only waiting for the moment. Please come back in a few years to give an excellent update.

[@hanzzarkov7690]

What an incredible project. Astounding engineering and logistics, yet somehow seemingly simple. Pretty amazing the things humanity is capable of.

[@Maxime_K-G]

Making Brussels-Gent high speed (it's already a straight line), giving Antwerp a metro system, building the fast tram between Hasselt and Maastricht, bringing back trams to Leuven and Brusselse Rand or adding extra lines in Oostende and Gent, creating faster service to the Kempen, bringing back that passenger line to Terneuzen, maybe just not closing more tracks and stations around Aalst? There's just so many cool rail projects they could've done instead!

[@ErikPukinskis]

Por qué no los dos?

[@Hepsewind]

We only just finished adding 2 extra tracks between Brusels and Gent. Also the line has already been 200km/h for close to 100 years.

[@lpt2606]

yup, mee eens. maya de tunnel was wel is nodig.

[@Maxime_K-G]

@@Hepsewind Clearly, the line between Gent and Denderleeuw still consists of double track. Unlike the short segment between Brussels and Leuven which does go 200km/h, this straight line is still capped at 160km/h, supposedly for capacity reasons.

[@Maxime_K-G]

@@lpt2606 I'm not against progress, just find it insulting that the Flemish government keeps building more roads under the banner of sustainability and alternative transportation options. It's like they really think we're stupid or something (and I guess we are). Imagine if they built a new rail alignment "with the aim of reducing train journeys", it just wouldn't make any sense.

[@CHRIS-xm1do]

As a retired construction plant operator I love watching your vids Fred. Who needs the BBC when we have quality like yours.

[@unitedstatesoffugu]

Great video! I've just discovered the construction site on google maps a few days ago and did some research on the project. But now I know even more! Thanks :)

[@minecrafter0505]

I'm not sure if you also cover construction projects that are already complete, but I'd love an episode on the "Elbtunnel", Hamburg's tunnel through the river "Elbe" that is Germany's main north-south link. Also, it is a permanent construction site, so there would still be current initiatives to cover.

[@TheRuralUrbanist]

I just wish that Belgium's 'Project of the Century' was a rail or transit project...not a highway expansion 😞.

[@NicLaue]

Yeah...

[@yurttgjk]

Strange they forgot about train tunnel 😢

[@user-vo9wd6tx6c]

Silver lining- there are bike lanes on the project.

[@Squizie3]

True! Although, we've also had one (every two decades there seems to be a new 'project of the century' around here). From 1998 till 2007 the Antwerp Central train station was completely overhauled from a single level terminus station to a triple (!) stacked through station, connecting to a new HSR tunnel towards the Netherlands under the city centre. They basically excavated a huge pit inside and under the monumental building, creating a now phenomenal masterpiece of old and new with a large atrium where you can see all the stacked train levels at once. It still stuns me till this day because of the large sense of space you get there. Sadly, this was constructed before channels like this could cover it, because it's a real marvel of architecture and engineering. Aside from that, the video really glosses over the fact that this Oosterweel project is now MUCH more than just some extra tunnels, and that it took a lot of pressure to get there. Basically, after the referendum the project still kept stalling because the plan was still to just construct new roads tunnels and nothing more, while action groups advocated against it and eventually put forward their own proposal to instead cap the entire existing ring to erase that barrier inside the city. Finally, a deal was struck to redesign the project which included over a billion euros of additional funding to cap the project as much as possible including large sections of the existing ring (and they really didn't show any of those beautiful plans with lots of new parks that reconnect entire parts of the city, sometimes by literally burying existing interchanges so they're almost unnoticeable). Also part of that deal is to eventually cap the entirety of the rest of the ring and to massively invest in bike and public transport infrastructure (e.g. a 250 million euros worth bike bridge over the river). Although that public transit part is still stalling unfortunately, but pressure is building to keep the government accountable to its commitments.

[@timothyd314]

Well in all fairness, Antwerp already has a 3 layer rail way station so en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antwerpen-Centraal_railway_station

[@vwings01]

I'll say it again, the production value of this channel is superb. The team behind this channel is creating outputs better than the BBC or Channel 4.

[@flyingpanhandle]

LOL what? Do you actually watch anything on those channels? Documentaries are the BBCs forte.

[@_aullik]

@@flyingpanhandle The shady sponsorship inclusions are this channels forte.

[@RyansBlock]

The introduction of Antwarp coming one letter at a time, man that was some sick editting and pacing, love the B1M for its editting!

[@RyansBlock]

I can't get past the intro, its so good i keep rewatcing it!

[@sarcasmo57]

7 billion? I would have done it for 6.

[@MassiveBuild]

It is an example of innovation and optimization in design and construction, as it uses a stacked cut and cover tunnel instead of the originally proposed immersed tunnels, saving hundreds of millions of euros and enabling a sustainable design within the environmental requirements. It also uses advanced technologies and methods, such as 3D modelling, BIM, and digital twins, to ensure the quality and efficiency of the project.📌

[@TheUnknownDutchman]

Very first drone shot ain’t Antwerp. That’s Vlissingen. The Dutch town where many people from Antwerp come to relax. Love living there.

[@asahiorbit4565]

This is the best script, editing, and funniest video I’ve seen by B1M ❤😂 Keep going 🎉

[@Rosa_AI]

So as much as i aprove of this tunnel system...but we have so many other issues when it comes to Antwerp or belgium in general, we have very broken roads because we dont maintain them correctly.... then theirs the issue of the "kennedytunnel" that always has problems cause it goes down and up at a very high angle,that unless trucks ride above the speed limit,they can barely make it up when having a heavy load... i hope this project reliefs some of the stress of the majority of antwerp...and yet,we still have a massive amount of roads that were in the first place build as temporary until the main highway was finished...but they never did and so they are now permanent bad highway roads (not even really highways since they got massive amount of intersections) theres a saying...you can be asleep while driving in the netherlands,and you will litterally feel and wake up as soon as you cross the belgian border... our government should really learn how to fix that aswell sadly.... i am however proud on how well antwerp has invested in the public transport...especially our subway line,although some things could use modernization,it has become a big improvement for its students,citizens and tourists

[@Rosa_AI]

@@momytik yes it was! opened up on may 31st 1969, speed limits in the tunnel are only 70 then our usual 90-100 (because a severe fatal accident in 2006) but thats not enough for the trucks if they wanna get back up

[@ram64man]

i find it confusing that they haven't included new rail links as well for the shipping freight, its far more economical to move large quantise to distribution sections around the country to reduce truck traffic,

[@Oekedoelekens]

True, but sadly it´s often more expensive to move by train then it is by truck and the train can´t go to all destinations the trucks can. And they are, for example L11 is being converted from single track to double track. Also the Albert channel, usef for inland shipping, is being widened

[@Shadefreeze]

I actually love how the world doesn't really look at Belgium and what we're doing. If people actually knew how good we had it, there wouldn't be any room left! Besides, the traffic is only that bad in and around; Brussel (Ternat), Antwerpen, Gent, Charleroi, Luik, Brugge, Leuven, Mechelen, Kortrijk, Aalst, Hasselt, Genk, Namen, Sint-Niklaas, Turnhout, Roeselare, Oostende, ... 😅

[@arnes0143]

I am from Belgium and remember the referendum to ban the bridge. I didn't know anything about the current contruction. this video expalined it perfectly, amazing job!

[@vsznry]

Beautiful. But I don't agree Masterworks is a good bet for your audience.

[@zeberday1]

How is increasing car capacity going to reduce car journeys to 50%?

[@faustinpippin9208]

the poors will just get outpriced out of cars thru taxes and other fees that only the rich will be able to afford this tunnel will have tolls so its also only for the rich

[@saladspinner3200]

By building a link around the city where none exists today. Not that hard....

[@zeberday1]

@@saladspinner3200 so how does that reduce car journeys?

[@faustinpippin9208]

@@zeberday1 it will reduce the car journeys in the city center that the road goes around....

[@u1zha]

​@@zeberday1 Fewer people will pass through the city center using their car, if they are given a convenient route around. Then, to reduce even more than this, they will probably do other things as well. Such as narrowing the roads that lead _into_ the city, and intensifying public transport.

[@timbaake1986]

I've been living in Antwerp my entire life and this video really sums up everything really, really well! Well made and all the facts are there; so that must have taken some effort and time; thanks for that! Hopefully this will improve the situation and still some time towards completion but construction is going on well. Cheers

[@imogendunstan3603]

We have the same issue in Melbourne Australia (the M80 ring road, part of Victorias Big Build) but it is finally currently being completed which is very exciting for a Melbourian ❤