Work to immerse the 4th section of the new Scheldt Tunnel has run into difficulties. The 60,000-ton structure that has been under water since yesterday (Thursday 21/08) appears not to be fully in place. The culprit is a pile of sand that has amassed on the riverbed of the Scheldt. The tunnel section will remain where it is for the next two weeks while engineers try and come up with a solution.
The 4th section of the new tunnel under the River Scheldt in Antwerp was immersed on Thursday. However, unexpected issues arose and now work on the tunnel will be halted for a least a fortnight while engineers working on the project attempt to come up with a solution.
Laure Stuyck of the company in charge of the tunnel project Lantis told VRT News that "Currently work been halted because the tunnel section cannot be put into place correctly."
"We encountered a pile of sand that had amassed in the zinc trench where the section is supposed to rest on temporary support tiles”.
Despite thorough preparations an accumulation of sand on the bed of a river like the Scheldt always remains a possibility.
But what now?
The tunnel section will stay where it is for at least another two weeks. In the meantime, it will be decided what to do next. It could be the case that the tunnel section is moved on the riverbed or taken back out of the river.
"We can't do anything sooner because the Scheldt has a strong current. This will only be possible during neap tides, when the currents in the river are weakest and that only happens twice a month."
The tunnel section will be monitored continuously and the submersible catamarans will remain in place at the site. Lantis expects a one-month delay to work on the tunnel.
The planned opening date for the new tunnel remains 2028 for cyclists and in 2030 for motor vehicles