Couvin motorway bypass (E420/N5)
The Couvin motorway bypass (E420/N5) is 13.8 km long and has a dual carriage way in each direction, a hard shoulder and 35 highway structures. Since October 2017, users have been able to drive on this 4 km section and thus avoid the centre of Couvin.
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 :
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
