If it loses a court battle, Tervuren could be liable for a €279,000 bill to repair the Duisburgsesteenweg. The main road into Tervuren was damaged during the massive foundation works for the luxury Panquin apartments. Continued closure will only add to travel miseries from 1 September.
If it loses a court battle, Tervuren could be liable for a €279,000 bill to repair the Duisburgsesteenweg, Tervuren+ has learnt. The main road into Tervuren was damaged during the massive foundation works for the luxury Panquin apartments. Closure will only add to travel miseries from 1 September.
The question of whether Tervurenaars or the luxury apartments’ developers will pay the €279,000 road repair bill remains to be settled in court. The legal dispute could see developers arguing that the road’s inadequate foundation was a preexisting issue long before the significant crack appeared in the middle of the Duisburgsesteenweg.
Tervuren is drawing up a list of costs incurred since the road was closed in June 2023. Local firms and shops have been asked to report any losses suffered. It remains unclear whether Tervuren will contact car drivers who experienced damage while passing through the narrow “checkpoint.”
The Duisburgsesteenweg was closed to traffic in June 2023, later reopening to one-way traffic excluding heavy vehicles.
Duisburgsesteenweg residents feel left in the dark. They see little hope of any real solution to the traffic problems. Once the luxury apartments are completed, an estimated 200+ new cars could worsen traffic conditions. Moreover, there is no indication that town officials have decided on widening the dangerously narrow pedestrian and cycle path before the completion of the Panquin apartments.
Checkpoint Charlie
Checkpoint Charlie, as natives call it, will likely persist into 2025. Werner Aerts, alderman for public works, confirmed that a firm has been selected for the road repairs, estimated at €279,000. However, Flemish nationalist N-VA’s Aerts told the town council that there is still no clarity on legal responsibility for the road damage, with improving subsurface ground compactness being the major sticking point.
The delay in the legal dispute, due to a judge falling ill, has pushed the start of repair work back from the end of August. The repairs are expected to take 60 working days.
“So we are now forced to wait for the verdict. We have no other option,” said Aerts. He hopes for a court decision in September to allow works to begin. “As soon as we get the go-ahead, we can start,” he told the town council.
Please note that this article reports on local politicians. Dafydd ab Iago is a professional journalist. And he has also become a member of European movement Volt Europa’s Tervuren branch.
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