The A1 is a major Belgian

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

linking the

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

and then to the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

border turning to the A16 in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The motorway is a part of the E19.

The central reservation

Remarkable between Antwerp and Brussels is the exceptional broad

central reservation The median strip, central reservation, roadway median, or traffic median is the reserved area that separates opposing lanes of traffic on divided roadways such as divided highways, dual carriageways, freeways, and motorways. The term also a ...

(40 m wide over a length of about 35 km). The original plans for the A1 dating from the beginning of the 1970s were based on unrealistic growth scenarios. The central reservation was meant for eventual lanes for traffic from Brussels to Antwerp (and vice versa), with only ramps in

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

(which explains the complex interchange in Mechelen-North and South). Only between Antwerp and

Kontich Kontich (, old spelling: ''Contich'') is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Kontich proper and Waarloos. In 2021, Kontich had a total population of 21,260. The total area is 23.67&nbs ...

, the middle lanes were built with 2 x 2 lanes, but these were merged in 2011. The rest of the track was not built in spite of the increased traffic. Because the

Brussels Ring The Brussels Ring ( Dutch: ''Grote ring rond Brussel'', French: ''Ring de Bruxelles'') numbered R0, is a ring road surrounding the city of Brussels as well as other smaller towns south of Brussels. It is about long, with 2 or 3 lanes in each direc ...

and Antwerp Ring can already no longer manage the traffic at certain times, the "super motorway" would do nothing but move the traffic jams from the A1 to the interchanges near Antwerp and Brussels. This broad central reservation, including the unnecessarily long bridges over the A1, along with the partly unused interchange in Mechelen and the lamps that light the unused central reservation, is an

urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

blunder. The unused lamps were taken out in 2006. Shortly after the

Dutroux Marc Paul Alain Dutroux (; born 6 November 1956) is a Belgian convicted serial killer, serial rapist, and child molester. Initially convicted for the abduction and rape of five young girls in 1989, Dutroux was released on parole after just thre ...

affair, in 1997, trees have been planted on a part of the central reservation in commemoration of killed children, the so-called ''"Witte Kinderbos"'' ("White Children's Forest"). On the central reservation between

Zemst Zemst () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the villages of Elewijt, Eppegem, Hofstade, Weerde, Zemst-Laar, Zemst-Bos and Zemst proper. On January 1, 2006, Zemst had a total populatio ...

and Brussels, a railway has been built between 2007 and 2012 that is part of the new high-speed connection from Antwerp to

Brussels Airport Brussels Airport, nl, Luchthaven Brussel, vls, Vliegpling Brussel, german: Flughafen Brüssel is an international airport northeast of Brussels, the capital of Belgium. In 2019, more than 26 million passengers arrived or departed at Bruss ...

, known as the

Diabolo project The Diabolo project created a new railway line serving Brussels National Airport. It is so called because of its shape, resembling a Chinese yo-yo: the line forms a chord between the Brussels-Leuven line 36 going east and the new Brussels-Ant ...

. Thereby, a part of the ''Witte Kinderbos'' disappeared and was replaced by green spaces between the A1 and the adjacent residential areas. The biggest part of the forest is between Mechelen and Antwerp and remained.

Pictures

File:Machelen (bord).jpg, A1 near the interchange of Machelen File:Craeybeckxtunnel_zuidingang_07-2009.jpg, Craeybeckx Tunnel in the direction of Antwerp File:Dijle (motorway bridge near Mechelen).jpg, Viaduct over the

Dijle The Dyle (french: Dyle ; nl, Dijle ) is a river in central Belgium, left tributary of the Rupel. It is long. It flows through the Belgian provinces of Walloon Brabant, Flemish Brabant and Antwerp. Its source is in Houtain-le-Val, near Nivelles ...

near Mechelen

External links

* (Dutch
History of the A1-E19 on Wegen-Routes.be
* (Dutch
Information
about the broad

on the website of the

Flemish government The Flemish Government ( nl, Vlaamse regering ) is the executive branch of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region of Belgium. It consists of a government cabinet, headed by the Minister-President and accountable to the Flemish Parliament, a ...

{{Motorways in Belgium Motorways in Belgium