All federal construction sites and work around 85% of Brussels Mobility’s construction sites have been put on hold due to the coronavirus crisis.
The basic social distancing and equipment sanitizing rules are difficult to apply, and many subcontractors are unable to continue.
Only the bare minimum is being dealt with, such as pothole repairs and gardening.
For Beliris, the Federal body in charge of major infrastructure projects in Brussels, all sites are put on hold, as subcontractors are incapable to continue to work.
“These companies have notified us that their activities have stopped, and we have asked for the sites to be secured. We’ve noted that there is between 55 and 75% less traffic depending on the location, but this is certainly not the time for us to force contractors to work given the context,” Camille Thiry, Brussels Mobility spokesperson explains.
The decision has been taken to completely stop all construction works until April 19. “It is difficult to accommodate social distancing measures with the safety of workers on-site, and it’s just as difficult on certain sites to take sufficient measures in terms of hygiene, especially for transport. We, therefore, decided to stop all construction sites,” added Marianne Hiernaux from Beliris.
“Some major projects are completely stopped, such as that of the Tram 9 or the renovation of metro stations, while others are continuing, but at a very slow pace, such as the construction of the Leopold II tunnel or the ‘Constitution’ station construction for Metro 3 line,” adds Brussels Mobility.
The Brussels Times
