Mechelen (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Mechelen will build a €30M Arsenal Link road, mostly funded by Flanders. The 1.2 km road supports Ragheno district development, including 2,700 homes, offices, an 11-hectare park, and facilities.
As VRT News reported, the city of Mechelen will soon apply for the environmental permit for the Arsenal Link. The new road will cover a length of 1.2 kilometres. It begins in the Margaret tunnel under the station.
The first 150 meters will remain underground and then continue as a normal road above ground. The project is linked to the development of the Ragheno district. The road is planned to improve access for future homes, offices, and facilities in the growing area.
“It’s a branch of the Margareta Tunnel that will open up the new Ragheno district and connect to Leuvensesteenweg,”
explains Alderman for Urban Renewal Greet Geypen (Mechelen).
“It’s the new main road connecting the Ragheno district, which will be developed gradually.”
What will Mechelen’s €30M Arsenal Link road bring to the Ragheno district?
The Ragheno district is set to become a new part of the city with 2,700 homes, shops, sports facilities, and leisure areas. A large 11-hectare park will also be built. This park will connect the station with the Loos forest and provide green space for residents.
Alderman Geypen explained that a Spatial Implementation Plan has already fixed the location for housing, the park, the roads, and the marina. Building permits are now being filed for offices and housing blocks.
Mechelen will build a new road costing €30 million. Most of the money will come from the Flemish government. The city will add €5 million, said Mayor Bart Somers (For Mechelen). Part of the city’s share will pay for noise barriers along the Hanswikdries. The environmental report did not require the barriers, but the city will finance them to reduce noise.
“The Industrial Revolution in Flanders began here, among other places,”
Somers explains.
“This is where the first trains were built, the first station. There are still buildings dating from that early period: a water tower, an old laboratory, and the oldest warehouse in Europe. We want to preserve these artefacts because they give character to the neighbourhood.”
Work on the Arsenal connection will start next year and finish by late 2028. An information session will be held tomorrow, September 23, 2025, from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the De Mot centre.
Residents, business owners, and other interested parties can attend without registering. The city will show the full road plan and the preliminary design for the new Ragheno Central Park. Attendees can review the plans and ask questions.
Ragheno district in Mechelen has a long industrial past, once hosting the Ragheno locomotive and railway factory in the early 20th century. The factory closed in the late 1990s, leaving the area largely unused except for a few remaining warehouses and industrial buildings that have been preserved.
In 2018, the city approved a Spatial Implementation Plan to redevelop the district into a modern mixed-use neighbourhood. The plan includes housing, offices, shops, sports facilities, and large green spaces. Planning and preliminary designs for the new Arsenal Link road started in 2023. The city submitted the environmental permit in September 2025 to move the project forward.
