Brussels running out of money to maintain roads

The Brussels region spent just €3.2 million on resurfacing its regional roads last year, well below the estimated €10 million needed annually.

At least 10% of the 800km of Brussels roads that are managed by the region - not communes - must be resurfaced each year in order to keep them in good condition.

But while the region spent around €11 million on the maintenance of regional roads for road traffic (excluding footpaths and cycle paths) in 2022, the figure fell to around €6.4 million euros in 2023 and €3.2 million in 2024.

The coming year will see little improvement, with an estimated budget of about €4 million.

Brussels MP Benjamin Dalle (CD&V) raised the issue in parliament, arguing that the consequences of the declining maintenance budget are already noticeable.

“In 2023, almost 10,000 reports were registered via Fix My Street about damage to the road surface or subsidence,” Dalle said.

“Additionally, in recent years, the region has had to pay compensation to road users for accidents caused by the poor condition of the road.”

Mobility minister Elke Van den Brandt (Groen) indicated that Brussels currently does not have enough money to maintain the roads properly, noting that continued lack of a government "certainly has an impact on the situation".

“This context had a major impact on the planning and implementation of the works in 2025,” Van den Brandt said.

“Funds were only released every four months, which made planning difficult and caused delays. Resources are limited.

"Brussels Mobility has to make choices every year. These mainly concern matters such as the maintenance of tunnels or major infrastructure works.

"It’s also not the case that work on cycling infrastructure means there’s less money left for other roadworks."

Van den Brandt emphasised that safety is not compromised.

“Targeted interventions on small sections of road surface that are very problematic will continue,” she said.

“However, due to the limited budget, rebuilding entire sections of road surface in one go will now have to wait more often.”