Underwater tunnels are not typical cycling facilities. But in a few cases, such tunnels provide an important cycling connection. We start a new mini-series with Kennedy tunnel in Antwerp, which is a part of both the TEN-T road network and the cycle highway network.

Kennedy tunnel is a road and cycling tunnel under the river Scheldt in the south of Antwerp. For drivers, it is a part of Antwerp ring-road. In the trans-European road network (TEN-T), it is a part of the North Sea – Mediterranean core corridor. For cyclists, it is the cycle highway FR10, connecting routes from Brussels, Gent and Boom.

Car drivers travelling on the ring road usually do not even know there is a cycle tunnel next to the car tunnels. The entry for cyclists is difficult to notice from the motorway and better visible from city streets on both sides of the river.

Still, cycling facilities were integrated as a part of big motorway project, something that is not always guaranteed in more recent projects. At tunnel exits there are even underground intersections for cyclists that make it easier to access the tunnel from different cycle paths.

NEXT STOP: Cycling Underwater Mini Series will next explore the historic Sint-Anna Tunnel under the Scheldt river in Antwerp.