Lantis, the former BAM, is responsible for the research and execution of various large projects within the Master Plan 2020 of the City of Antwerp. The aim of this plan is to find a sustainable solution for mobility in and around Antwerp. Important interventions are the renovation of locks, the construction of the Oosterweel link and the extension of public transport to the suburbs. TTS (Tractebel, TML, Sweco) supports Lantis in this assignment with regard to mobility. Sweco is responsible for the execution of mobility studies, communication, signalisation and traffic safety analyses as well as for the in-depth studies by means of micro-simulations.
The five main areas for the micro-simulations are the northern R1 from complex Antwerp-East to Antwerp-North, complex Groenendaallaan, complex Schijnpoort, the Oosterweel connection with the Oosterweel node and Linkeroever. In the analysis, consideration is given to public transport, soft road users and private traffic. Specific attention is also paid to freight traffic because of the proximity of the port.
For motorway traffic, not only traffic flow is investigated, but also a detailed traffic safety analysis so that variants can be compared more objectively. Weaving zone analysis is also part of the job package.
The challenge for traffic signalisation is to obtain a logical overall story in addition to the applicable rules. Because of the complex weaving zones, signalling is extremely important. In addition to the classic fixed and dynamic signs, wall guidance and possibly dynamic lane signalling are also considered. The signalling for the various port areas will also be integrated into this whole.
Besides these tasks, TTS also plays an important mobility role in the Scrum sessions with the citizen movements and the various actors. These work meetings are necessary to generate support for the proposed scenarios from the various disciplines.
In addition to the ‘hard’ science, Sweco is also responsible for the process supervision of the various studies. All possible communication channels are used to keep reports, consultation moments, bottlenecks, state of affairs in an orderly project.
For communication purposes, we work together with external visualisation agencies to produce 3D visualisations. The input from various disciplines is directly combined. Some disciplines are: road design, vehicle behaviour and light controls from micro-simulations, the landscape teams for the environment, road signalisation and VTTI(Techniques inside tunnels).
TTS is also responsible for a look into the future in which the R2 is further studied with a view to an additional ring road around Antwerp through the port area.
