The new cycle bridge over the Haachtsesteenweg (N21) in Melsbroek (Steenokkerzeel) constitutes an important link for cycling accessibility around Brussels Airport.
On Thursday 
27 April, Flemish Minister of Mobility and Public Works, Lydia Peeters, and Brussels Airport Company CEO, Arnaud Feist, inaugurated the new cycle bridge over the N21.
The bright red, 40-metre long bridge is an essential part of cycle highway F214 that connects the centre of Vilvoorde with Brucargo.
Thanks to the new bridge, employees living north of Brussels can now bike to the airport safely and much more comfortably than before, which makes cycling an attractive alternative to commuting by car.
After having built a branch that connects the F3 Brussels-Leuven cycle highway to the Brussels Airport passenger terminal, our cargo zone is now connected to the F214 cycle highway and adjacent cycle paths. “Today, around 4% of employees working at Brussels Airport commute to work by bicycle. By further improving infrastructure and signage, as well as developing campaigns to encourage bicycle use, we aim to make commuting by bike a fully-fledged alternative to commuting by car.”, says Arnaud Feist.
Some interesting facts
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The bridge over Haachtsesteenweg is 40 metres long and weighs 76 tonnes.
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In the night of 17 to 18 May 2022, the steel structure of the bridge was lifted onto the abutments by crane,
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To complete the F214 cycle highway, one kilometre of new cycle paths were built on either side of the cycle bridge.
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Where the two cycle highways F214 Vilvoorde Brucargo and FR 20 Luchthavenring Brucargo-Brussels Airport intersect, a tubular bridge was built so that all cyclists can pass smoothly.
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Brussels Airport Company provided the land for the construction of the embankments and invested 200,000 euros in the project.
- The rest of the cost was shared by the Flemish government (€ 900,000) and the European Regional Development Fund (€ 700,000).