N5 underpass

To the south-west of Namur, near the French border in Couvin, works have been ongoing for a few years, building the missing link on the Rotterdam – Marseille superhighway.  In the third and last phase, Jan De Nul Group is building a railway underpass on the N5 for a smooth road transit. We performed the earthworks, concrete works, and the foundation works.

Interpile sheeting and secant pile walls guarantee the stability of the underpass. They are installed top to bottom. And as if this were not enough, everything was also tied down with 15-metre long anchors. In some places, we had to drill through rock layers. Where drilling was unsuccessful, we had to shoot rocks out of the way with a very heavy compressor. This anchoring technique is called “marteau fond-de-trou”. Soetaert took care of foundation works, wherever in the field.