Genk (The Brussels morning Newspaper): Genk is building a 12.5 km, 4-meter wide asphalt bike path from Driehoeven to As station with bike tunnels for safety. The path will connect Limburg mining communities.
They’re building a new bike path at the Ike distribution center in Genk-Noord. The first part will be 12.5 kilometers long and go from Driehoeven and Zwartberg to the KRC Genk stadium passing by the Thor Park site and Klaverberg to the As station. It’s a 4-meter wide asphalt path. They chose to start with the Genk to As section because it was a big missing link in the bike path network. Safety was important during construction and they added some bike tunnels to help cyclists move around quickly.
What are the benefits of the new bike path in Genk?
Once the bike path is finished it will make it easier to travel around Maasland,” says Bert Lambrechts. “From As people can go to Dilsen-Stokkem, Maaseik and Maasmechelen. In Genk peoplecan go to Tongeren and Hasselt but the bike path also goes to Zonhoven and Houthalen-Helchteren. From there people can go to North and West Limburg.” Genk city council is building bike tunnels to keep cyclists safe. One tunnel will connect Hermeslaan and Hengelhoefstraat near Bruno Service Station for F76 and F75. Another tunnel at Hengelhoefstraat and Transportlaan will provide a safe route from Houthalen-Oost through Transportlaan and Hermeslaan without crossing busy traffic. Genk aims to prevent accidents like the one over 10 years ago.
The bike tunnels in Genk will be finished in about a year. Traffic will be redirected during the construction between Hengelhoefstraat and Hermeslaan. The first 12.5 kilometers of the Kolenspoor cycle highway from Genk to As will cost 11 million euros split equally between the Flemish and provincial governments. Some of the money will be used for nature-friendly measures like tunnels for animals under the cycle path. The cycle path will have special lighting that is friendly to bats and can be dimmed at night. The Kolenspoor cycle highway is a 77-kilometer route connecting Limburg mining communities. Construction has started on the first section.
