At present, the ring is incomplete on the western side of Antwerp, forcing truck traffc to and from the port to travel to the south of the city before joining up with the motorways that lead to the Netherlands, Liège and Germany. The government announced last week that a tunnel - and not the viaduct that has caused so much controversy - would be implemented.

The original plan for the Oosterweel connection, as the last portion of the ring is known, included a viaduct leading over part of the city, which led to protests against the environmental hazard of fine particulates emitted by diesel engines, a major cause of air pollution. The viaduct became known as the "Lange Wapper", named after a giant from Antwerp folklore who was said to haunt the streets.

Objections to the viaduct, initially based on cost and efficiency concerns, received a boost when the interest group Ademloos (Breathless) revealed that the viaduct would pass over a school for handicapped children, many of whom have respiratory problems. The Lange Wapper, though it would have been a spectacular landmark, was effectively buried by a city referendum.

The loss of the viaduct is a victory for Antwerp mayor Patrick Janssens, whose socialist party had given its backing to the tunnel option in 2008 and organised the referendum that dealt the death-blow to the Lange Wapper. But city and port will now have to find €352.7 million to pay the extra costs of the new plan.

According to Flemish minister-president Kris Peeters, the money will come back to the port and the city through various develop- ment projects made possible by the plan, including the levying of tolls on the new tunnels. "The user will pay the bill, not the taxpayer and not the people of Antwerp," he said. The original price tag for the closure of the ring was set at €500 million, but the total cost is now estimated at €3.05 billion.

The Oosterweel plan in five steps

1. A new tollbooth platform on the left bank of the Scheldt River, reached via the Kennedy Tunnel, the E17 and the E34, gives access to a six-lane tunnel leading to the Oosterweel interchange. The interchange is the point where port traffic from left and right banks comes together without passing through residential areas.
2. The ring is connected by a cut-and-cover tunnel (one that is dug out and then covered rather than being bored underground). One arm of the tunnel leads to the Luchtbal area and the other to Schijnpoort. The tunnel, with four lanes of traffic, is due to be complete by 2021.
3. At Luchtbal, the tunnel ends, and the road turns into a cutting, with the existing viaduct being demolished. At Schijnpoort, the tunnel joins the ring; the Merksem viaduct, which currently runs past the Sportpaleis, is taken down. At both Luchtbal and Schijnpoort, the tunnel will have to be dug under the TGV line, presenting difficult engineering problemd. At Schijnpoort the tunnel also surfaces into the so-called "paperclip" - an interchange com- plex that takes up less space than the usual on- and off-ramps.
4. The A102 "eastern tangent" linking Wommelgem in the east and Ekeren in the north would lead traffic from Limburg and the Kempen heading to the Netherlands away from the city itself. This section of the plan, costing €700 million to one billion, would only be started after the rest of the project was complete.
5. The "southern tangent" joining the E313 (Hasselt-Tongeren-Liege) at Wommelgem and the E19 (Brussels) at Wilrijk is by contrast a top priority, and tunnelling work under the airport at Deurne has to be completed by 2013. This section has a price ticket of €500 million.

History of the Oosterweel
The completion of the Antwerp ring road to allow access from the left bank was first made a priority in 1995. By 2000, there were six possible routes for the connection, soon to be joined by a seventh that included the Lange Wapper viaduct. The Flemish government approved the Antwerp Masterplan in December of that year, including the Oosterweel interchange, and set up the Antwerp Mobility Management Company (BAM) to run the plan.

In 2005, a model was unveiled of the viaduct, and Antwerp city council ordered an alternative study involving a tunnel, while community group Straten-Generaal presented their own proposal.

In June 2008, the Flemish government com- missioned a study of the various plans, which led to study bureau Arup/Sum rejecting all of the alternatives in favour of its own plan in- volving a tunnel. That plan received the sup- port of the Antwerp coalition leaders SP.A. In October 2009, a referendum saw 60% of the city's inhabitants reject the Lange Wapper. The Flemish government maintained that the referendum was not binding, but, when it presented its own plan, the viaduct had been replaced by tunnels.

In September this year, the final decision was made. The Lange Wapper no longer haunts the streets of Antwerp.

What they are saying about the Oosterweel
Community groups Straten-Generaal and Ademloos said the decision to abide by the BAM route, despite the use of tunnels instead of a viaduct, "offers no solution to the problem of congestion and would have a negative effect on the quality of life in Antwerp".

SP.A chair Caroline Gennez said the agreement would "cut through the knot of mobility in and around Antwerp and improve living conditions in the centre and on the outskirts of the city".

Vlaams Belang, whose power base is in Antwerp, said the compromise was "expensive and unworkable". The party's spokesman called for an exemption from tolls for the people of the city and the clients of the port.

Ghent mayor Daniel Termont said the principle of asking the local authority to pay for infrastructure works could set an unfortunate precedent for other cities. The previous Lange Wapper plan was rejected on environmental grounds, he said, so it should be up to the Flemish government to pay any additional costs incurred.

Kris Peeters said the agreement was "a win-win situation for the Flemish government and for Antwerp".