{"id":54425,"date":"2026-09-04T10:09:29","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T08:09:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swecobelgium.be\/?post_type=showroom_cpt&p=54425"},"modified":"2026-09-04T10:10:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T08:10:29","slug":"upgrading-the-albert-canal-gives-inland-navigation-and-local-mobility-more-room","status":"publish","type":"showroom_cpt","link":"https:\/\/www.swecobelgium.be\/en\/showroom\/upgrading-the-albert-canal-gives-inland-navigation-and-local-mobility-more-room\/","title":{"rendered":"Upgrading the Albert Canal gives inland navigation and local mobility more room"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ports and waterways<\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Upgrading the Albert Canal gives inland navigation and local mobility more room<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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By raising the bridges over the Albert Canal to a free clearance height of 9.10 metres, the route between Antwerp and Li\u00e8ge is now ready for vessels carrying four layers of containers. Together with Arcadis, Sweco supported the sub-assignment for 31 bridges with integrated engineering, preliminary studies, programmes of requirements, traffic and accessibility measures, tender support and site supervision.<\/p>\n

The upgrade not only increases inland navigation capacity, but also improves road safety<\/a>, traffic flow and the quality of local connections along the canal in several locations.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n \t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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Expertise:<\/dt>\n
Transport & Mobility<\/span><\/dd>\n
Client<\/dt>\n
De Vlaamse Waterweg nv<\/span><\/dd>\n
Location<\/dt>\n
Albert Canal, Antwerp-Li\u00e8ge route<\/span><\/dd>\n
Services<\/dt>\n
Preliminary studies, programme of requirements, tender support, traffic and accessibility measures and PPP site supervision<\/span><\/dd>\n
Partner<\/dt>\n
Arcadis<\/span><\/dd>\n <\/dl>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n
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A waterway highway for Flanders<\/h2>\n

The Albert Canal is Flanders\u2019 most important economic waterway. Every year, almost 40 million tonnes of goods are transported along it: the equivalent of around two million trucks. The canal connects the Port of Antwerp with the Meuse in Li\u00e8ge and also plays an important cross-border role towards the Netherlands, France and Germany. This makes it not only a Flemish transport axis, but also a strategic link in the European freight network<\/strong> and the North Sea-Mediterranean Corridor.<\/p>\n

By raising the bridges and improving the canal width at strategic locations, inland navigation can play a stronger role as a sustainable alternative to road transport. One additional container layer significantly increases the efficiency of each vessel: shipping efficiency can rise by around 33 percent<\/strong>. This makes waterborne transport more attractive for companies while helping to reduce congestion and CO2 emissions, including on the busy E313 corridor.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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From bottleneck to logistics lever<\/h2>\n

For years, the low clearance height of several bridges and the limited canal width between Antwerp and Wijnegem created major bottlenecks. To accommodate the expected growth in freight and container transport, De Vlaamse Waterweg nv launched a large-scale upgrade of the Albert Canal<\/strong> based on three major interventions: raising bridges, locally widening the canal and reorganising infrastructure along the waterway. This linked the modernisation of the waterway to better local mobility, safer crossings and a clearer separation between heavy traffic, local traffic and vulnerable road users.<\/p>\n

Between 2007 and 2024, 50 of the 62 bridges over the Albert Canal were upgraded. This created new opportunities for four-layer container transport<\/strong>, three-layer high cube container transport, Short Sea Shipping and larger project cargo. On 5 February 2024, the first four-layer container vessel sailed along the Albert Canal: a symbolic milestone for the modal shift in Flanders.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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