After floating up, concrete is added inside the tunnel element at specific points to serve as ballast, ensuring it floats perfectly level. Meanwhile, excavation work is underway to open the dike of the construction dock, carving out the passage the elements will use to leave the dock.

According to the current schedule, the first tunnel element will depart on May 19th for a 100 km journey via the North Sea and the Scheldt to Antwerp.

source: DEME.

Additional Information about the Oosterweel Link Project:

Oosterweel link aims to complete the highway ring (circle) around the city of Antwerp in the Flemish region of Belgium. Project will benefit the city traffic, Port of Antwerp (second biggest in Europe and in the top 20 in the world) as well as the Trans European Transport network (TEN-T) in which the Antwerp region is situated.

Project owner is Landis for building the new tunnel connection from Linkeroever to the Antwerp Ring. 

Lantis is a Flemish government controlled entity responsible for executing the project. It used to be called ' Beheersmaatschappij Antwerpen Mobiel NV' until recently. The project will cost 4,5 billion euros. Landis will borrow 3,6 billion euros of it from the Flemmish government and the European Investment Bank. Landis will be paying back the borrowed amount in 35-40 years with the income gained from road users.

Oosterweel Link is a tunnelling project to a large extent. The most important element of the project is the  1,8 km long 'Scheldt tunnel'. It will be an immersed tunnel with two tubes for motorway traffic and a separate tube for cyclists and pedestrians under the river of Scheldt. In addition to some connecting road construction, project will also introduce new Canal tunnels. They will be dual-layered, cut and cover tunnels consisting of 4 tubes, stacked two-by-two.