Skip to main content

REBLOC barriers for Antwerp’s Oosterweel Link

Effective noise protection is an essential part of road infrastructure- both temporarily during construction and permanently along the finished road.
October 31, 2022 Read time: 2 mins
REBLOC’s noise and safety barrier system for Antwerp’s Oosterweel Link is 1.3km in length and includes 5,300m² of REBLOC NBL100X_400_5 barrier (image courtesy of REBLOC)

For one of the largest road infrastructure projects in Belgium, REBLOC, along with its local partner De Bonte Group, is providing free-standing concrete safety barriers with integrated noise barrier panels.

The solution is for the Oosterweel Link – Right Bank R1 – E19 project, around Antwerp. Rebloc was commissioned by TM ROCO, an association of Belgian construction companies and managed by LANTIS - set up by the Flemish government to ensure the smooth running of the Oosterweel Link project.

Oosterweel Link is a 15km motorway that will complete the city’s R1 ring road. Construction started in 2018 with all work on the ring road set for completion in 2030. The Antwerp ring road is a key part of the Trans-European Transport (TEN-T) Core Network, a European Union cross-border initiative to enhance major road and rail routes.

The barrier system from REBLOC is 1.3km in length and includes 5,300m² of REBLOC NBL100X_400_5 barrier, installed between the end of May and mid-June as a temporary sound barrier during construction works.

The construction of a conventional noise barrier is often complicated by various ground and underground installations, such as cables, drainage systems and various pipelines. But REBLOC offers free-standing concrete safety barriers with integrated noise barrier panels. This combination of noise and safety barrier is tested according to EN 1317-2 to meet the required safety and quality standards in Europe.

The noise barrier itself is tested for noise protection in accordance with EN 1793. This space-saving system offers solutions for containment levels H2 and H4b for total heights from 2-6m and above at a very slim overall width. Thanks to this combined system, REBLOC says that the noise barrier can be placed closer to the noise source, resulting in reduced height or an improved noise protection effect. Also, due to the system’s modular design, various highly absorbent panels made of wood-concrete, aluminum or acrylic glass can be combined to allow for numerous architectural design options.

REBLOC‘s space-saving systems leave more room for traffic lanes. The noise barrier can be moved quickly and easily - a great advantage for temporary application or when future road layout changes are planned.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Stronger crash barriers may be needed for heavier trucks
    January 4, 2013
    The European Road Federation (ERF) has voiced its concern that roadside barriers in Europe may have to be upgraded According to the ERF, the recent decision of the European Commission to allow cross-border movement of longer and heavier trucks, it is keen to raise awareness of the important implications such a move may have for road barriers. ‘Road safety barriers are designed and tested according to the maximum weight of vehicles circulating on Europe’s roads. The current European Norm (EN 1317) allows for
  • Steel wire barriers provide rock fall protection
    February 6, 2012
    In Gibraltar, where the entire population lives on or close to the huge limestone rock that gives the nation its name, the issue of rock fall protection is taken very seriously. Here, a scheme to install a network of rock fall catchment fences has just been completed, which will allow the re-opening of a critically important road at the south-eastern end of the Rock, which was closed following a significant rock fall occurrence in 2002.
  • Improve highway barriers to cope with higher speed
    February 24, 2012
    The UK association Britpave, the British In-situ Concrete Paving Association group, is keen to ensure that the country’s major highways will be able to cope with proposed speed limit increases. According to Britpave much of the UK motorway central reservation barriers may not be fit-for-purpose if the speed limit is increased from112-128km/h (70-80mph) as proposed recently.
  • Safety barriers deliver valuable road user protection
    February 14, 2012
    Safety barriers provide an invaluable service for all road users, Mike Woof reports The safety barrier market is a key one for the highway sector, with systems providing valuable protection for all categories of road users. The importance of passive protective devices such as safety barriers can often be overlooked by the road user but is well-understood by highway designers. Redirecting an errant vehicle back into the roadway and preventing it from crossing into traffic flowing in the other direction or fr