E17 exists 50 years: “retrieve memories” but also “noise nuisance and fine dust”
Their remarkable stories about the construction and the early days of what was then E3 will later be bundled in a project with an exhibition, podcasts and a magazine.
About 50 people reminisce and have stories recorded about the construction and early years of the E17, then still the E3. And it is no coincidence that they do that in De Gavers, because the nature reserve was created thanks to the E17. Large pits were dug for the sand extraction, which was necessary for the construction.
The first stretch of E17, then called E3, opened in 1970 from Harelbeke to Rekkem. In ’72 the motorway was then extended to Ghent and to the French border.
But 50 years of E17 is a sad anniversary for some, for example for the action committee ‘Environmental Affairs Stasegem’. Many residents have been complaining about the nuisance of the motorway for 25 years, but they say they are not getting any response.
The E17 runs straight through Stasegem, which is an urbanized area together with Harelbeke. People from the area complain about noise nuisance and the emission of fine dust, caused by the busy traffic. But apparently there is no response from Flanders.