Infrastructure Map

Roads and Structures

The study area is surrounded by roads on nearly all sides. From the north going clockwise, there are residential streets, a railway line, a national road, the E19/R0 highway, and a second national road. There are no main roads dividing the study area. The centre of the area can be accessed through partially hardened agricultural roads. A few pedestrian paths connect some of the agricultural roads.

Given the nature of the orohydrography, the study area features a large number of bridges and tunnels. Five bridges and three tunnels can be found, mostly as a consequence of the high infrastructure density. A number of concrete culverts allow water to cross below roads and paths.

Fencing and Furniture

Given the land use of the study area, it is not surprising that most pastures and croplands are fenced off, either to restrict access or to keep animals inside their pastures. Most of the fencing consists of simple barbed wire or mesh fencing. A few fences consist only of simple metal wire. Surprisingly, guardrails are not only present along the highway and national roads, but also in the pastures, often surrounding field gates. Drinking troughs are also present throughout the study area.

Electricity

The distribution of artificial lighting mirrors the presence of heavy infrastructure. Belgium is renowned for its lit highways, and the study area is no exception. The full length of the highway features lighting poles every 33 m or so. Within the study area, every single road is lit. If the northernmost road appears not to feature lighting, this is only because the streetlights are on the side of the road outside the study area.

Above-ground medium-voltage power lines are still present and connect the various light poles and houses. The grid in the study area is of the 3x230 V AC type, which is the older standard of three-phase electricity delivery in Belgium (Fluvius, 2026). High-voltage electricity lines can also be found, in the form of a catenary providing 3 kV DC to railway line 26 (OpenRailwayMap, 2026).