Couvin motorway bypass (E420/N5)
In mid-2019, the full bypass was opened to traffic and only the finalisation of the cut-and-cover tunnel passing under the railway hopper at Frasnes remained. This final phase of the project was completed in October 2021, thus marking the final completion of the Couvin motorway bypass.
In mid-2019, the whole bypass will be open to traffic, with one single lane in each direction under the railway line in Frasnes. The works should be fully completed in mid-2020 with a dual carriageway under the railway line in Frasnes.
A four-phase project :
Phase 1
Construction of the section from Frasnes to Ry de Rome and the double tunnel for the Eau Noire river
October 2011 > October 2017
Phase 2
Construction of the section from Ry de Rome to Brûly
August 2015 > Mid-2019
Phase 3
Construction of the passage under the railway line in Frasnes
October 2016 > October 2021
Phase 4
Installation of electro-mechanical equipment (lighting, etc) simultaneously on the different sections concerned.
The construction of this motorway link, continued in France via the extension of the A304 linking the Belgian border and Charleville-Mézières (inaugurated in July 2018), meets several objectives :
- Linking Northern Europe and the Mediterranean
- Opening up economic opportunities for the south of Charleroi
- Improving the flow of traffic between France and Wallonia
- Improving road safety on the N5
- Reducing congestion by heavy goods vehicles in the centre of Couvin
Within the framework of this project, many environmental measures were implemented to protect the fauna and flora :
- Game crossings
- Passages for bats
- Dry benches for small fauna
- Wildlife crossings for large fauna
- Building toad tunnels
- Restoring calcareous grasslands
- Planting hedges, orchards and forest plants
