The A12 is an incomplete motorway in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. The road starts at 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 near

Zandvliet Zandvliet () is a former Belgian town forming part of the Antwerp district of Berendrecht-Zandvliet-Lillo. The place dates back to 1135 when it was known as ''Santflit'', meaning "a navigable passage through sand". In 1622 the Spaniard Ambrog ...

and goes to Antwerp. There the A12 goes onto the Antwerp ring road R1. Then the road goes via

Wilrijk Wilrijk (; former, original spelling: ''Wilrijck'') is a district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Belgian province of Antwerp. Wilrijk had been a separate municipality before January 1, 1983; the enlarged municipality of Antwerp wa ...

in the direction of

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 ...

(the traffic coming from

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

takes the A112 via the Jan De Vos Tunnel). From here on, it has

frontage road A frontage road (also known as an access road, outer road, service road, feeder road, or parallel road) is a local road running parallel to a higher-speed, limited-access road. A frontage road is often used to provide access to private drive ...

s on both sides. Between Wilrijk and

Schelle :''Schelle is also the German name for Šaľa, Slovakia.'' Schelle () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Schelle proper. In 2021, Schelle had a total population of 8,559. The t ...

, the A12 is an

expressway Expressway may refer to: * Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. * Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road. *Expressway, the fictional s ...

with major at-grade intersections that contain also the frontage roads. There, from Schelle, it is again a motorway. Then, in Boom, a tunnel leads the A12 under the

Rupel The Rupel () is a tidal river in northern Belgium, right tributary of the Scheldt. It is about long. It flows through the Belgian province of Antwerp. It is formed by the confluence of the rivers Dijle and Nete, in Rumst. It flows into the Sche ...

river, where the frontage roads take a bridge and then fuse with the motorway itself. Between

Breendonk Breendonk is a village in the municipality of Puurs-Sint-Amands in the province of Antwerp, Belgium, with a population 3,000, halfway between Brussels and Antwerp. History Its name stems from the medieval ''Bredene Dunc'' which translates as ...

and Sint-Brixius-Rode, there are again at-grade intersections, and then it is again a motorway, until Brussels, where it ends onto 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 ...

. There are plans to gradually convert the road into a full motorway. Therefore, exits would be built replacing the two intersections in Westrode/

Londerzeel Londerzeel () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the towns of Londerzeel proper, Malderen, Steenhuffel (home of Palm Breweries) and Sint-Jozef. On 1 January 2006, Londerzeel had a total ...

and a bridge replacing the intersection near Breendonk. However, in 2010, the intersections are being modernised instead and a frontage road is partially being built in the direction of Brussels. Between Zandvliet and Stabroek (north of Antwerp), the railway runs on the central reservation. Unusually for a motorway in Belgium, the A12 is not part of the

E-road network The international E-road network is a numbering system for roads in Europe developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The network is numbered from E1 up and its roads ...

. However, for much of its length it runs a few kilometers to the west of and parallel with the A1 which forms a part of the

European route E19 European route E19 is a long European route. It connects the Netherlands to France via Belgium. Among the places included in its itinerary are: * ''Netherlands:'' Amsterdam - The Hague - Rijswijk - Rotterdam - Breda * ''Belgium:'' Antwerp - M ...

Pictures

File:Lijn11 a12.jpg, Picture of the A12 and the railway line 11 File:AutorouteA12.jpg, The A12 in the direction of Willebroek File:A12-Zandvliet.JPG, The A12 near Zandvliet, in the direction of

Bergen-op-Zoom Bergen op Zoom (; called ''Berrege'' in the local dialect) is a municipality and a city located in the south of the Netherlands. Etymology The city was built on a place where two types of soil meet: sandy soil and marine clay. The sandy soi ...

External links

Complete track of the A12 on Autosnelwegen.net
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{{Motorways in Belgium Motorways in Belgium