Construction site address

Bois Fichaux neighbourhood, Avenue de la Promenade, 7700 Mouscron, Belgium

Scope of works

Approximately 2 km of road and sewerage infrastructure, together with 600 m of aqueduct.

Final accounts

€2,133,060.38

The project comprised four main components, described in detail below.

1. Road infrastructure

The works involved the complete reconstruction of the road infrastructure throughout the Bois Fichaux neighbourhood, including the sub-base, road base and two asphalt surfacing layers.

The project also incorporated a range of new road layouts and traffic-calming measures, including chicanes, passing bays, raised traffic-calming platforms, speed cushions, footpaths, drainage ditches, landscaped central reservations and residential access roads.

All works were coordinated with the City of Mouscron’s Roads Department.

2. Sewerage network

As the existing sewerage infrastructure was in very poor condition or entirely absent in certain sections, a new separate sewerage system was installed beneath the road infrastructure.

The adoption of a separate system for foul water and stormwater was driven primarily by two factors: the presence of the Espierre stream downstream of the project area and the planned construction of a new multi-kilometre wastewater collector. The latter was designed and supervised by Pirnay Engineering Consultants as part of a parallel project.

The key technical challenges associated with the sewerage works included:

• Identifying and connecting all previously unrecorded discharge points, given the partial absence of the existing network.
• Providing sewer connections for future residential developments in anticipation of the neighbourhood’s significant expansion.
• Incorporating and coordinating capped connections for two new residential developments that were still at the design stage.

3. Aqueduct

The construction of the new wastewater collector, together with the implementation of a separate sewerage system throughout the Bois Fichaux neighbourhood, enabled the remediation of the Espierre stream and the diversion of part of the stormwater runoff into a new aqueduct.

The aqueduct was designed to convey clean stormwater to the moat of the Counts’ Castle. Hydraulic structures located upstream and downstream of the aqueduct regulate the flow of water supplied to the moat.

The design and installation of this network presented significant technical challenges, as the 600 m pipeline route crossed a complex urban environment, including parks, major roads, playgrounds and areas earmarked for future development. The route also crossed a heavily trafficked reinforced-concrete roundabout.

4. Castle moat restoration

The entire moat surrounding the Counts’ Castle was rehabilitated through earthworks and the installation of an impermeable clay lining designed to maximise natural water retention.

The clay lining was protected by a rock armour layer. Hydraulic structures were also constructed to control the supply of water from the aqueduct and to discharge excess water into an existing culvert.

A related project, also supervised by Pirnay Engineering Consultants, involved the construction of a watertight basin within a smaller section of the moat to accommodate waterfalls and an access footbridge.