The Brussels Ring, numbered R0, is a ring road surrounding the Brussels-Capital Region, as well as other smaller towns south of Brussels. It is about 75 km long, with two or three lanes in each direction. While most of it is classified as a motorway (highway), part of it (in the Sonian Forest) is merely an express route. It crosses the three regions of Belgium: its main part (51.7 km) is situated in Flanders, whereas Wallonia comprises 18.2 km of the total stretch and 5.5 km is on Brussels territory. The clockwise carriageway is referred to as the inner ring, while the anticlockwise carriageway is referred to as the outer ring.

History

The first sections of the road were built in the late 1950s, but the main part was built during the 1970s, with the end of construction in 1978. The Brussels Ring has interchanges with the European routes E40 (at the Groot-Bijgaarden and Sint-Stevens-Woluwe interchanges), E19 (at the Machelen and Ittre interchanges), E411 (at the Leonard crossroads), and E429 (at the Halle interchange). It also has interchanges with national highways A12 (at the Strombeek-Bever interchange) and A201 (at the Zaventem interchange).

Course

The Strombeek-Bever interchange with the A12 is located in Grimbergen municipality. Going clockwise from there, the ring then crosses the municipalities of City of Brussels, Vilvoorde, Machelen, Zaventem, Kraainem, Wezembeek-Oppem, Tervuren, Auderghem/Oudergem, Watermael-Boitsfort/Watermaal-Bosvoorde, Hoeilaart, Waterloo, Braine-l'Alleud, Braine-le-Château, Halle, Beersel, Drogenbos, Forest, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Anderlecht, Dilbeek, Asse and Wemmel. In all the ring crosses fifteen municipalities in Flanders, five in the Brussels Region, and three in Wallonia.

Ramps

As well as having eight interchanges with other highways, the Brussels Ring has twenty-seven ramps (junctions), numbered counterclockwise from 1 to 27: