Protective frames over N16 and railway Mechelen - Sint-Niklaas

Elia is currently replacing a pylon in the municipality of Bornem as part of the Mercator-Bruegel project. In order to ensure that these works are carried out safely, Elia is placing protective frames over the busy N16 regional road between Mechelen and Sint-Niklaas and the railway that connects these same cities..

Reinforcement of electricity grid backbone

As part of the reinforcement of the backbone of our electricity grid, Elia has been working since April 2022 on the high-voltage line (380 kV) between the “Mercator” high-voltage substation in Kruibeke and “Bruegel” substation in Dilbeek. The high-voltage line, which runs along the municipalities of Kruibeke, Temse, Bornem, Puurs-Sint-Amands, Buggenhout, Londerzeel, Merchtem, Asse and Dilbeek, will have a new type of electricity wires, HTLS conductors. This type can transport more power (6 GW). In this way, Elia will be able to continue to guarantee electricity supply in the future. To be able to bear the weight of the new electricity wires, Elia is reinforcing or replacing the pylons of the high-voltage line.

Wooden protective frames 

The works on high-voltage pylon number 13 (P13) require a lot of safety measures. As such, frames will appear over the regional road in the coming days. Thanks to the wooden protective frames, the electrical wires can never fall onto public roads or other obstacles during the works. Elia applies the same safety principle for the railway over which the line runs, but provides a metal construction there.