Stone Street

Now we usually take the Nijvelsesteenweg to go from Halle to Nijvel or vice versa. But in the past, people preferred the Steenstraat and the Hallestraat.

It was quite muddy along the route where the Nijvelsesteenweg runs here in Essenbeek today. One followed the northern Halleweg. By taking the Halleweg (or the Kromstraat) to the Boterham, transport in the old days avoided the damp lowland at the confluence of Vijverbeek and Aemborrebeek. Crossing this marshy area required the construction of a hardened road and bridge, which was an expensive matter under the circumstances of the time. From a traffic perspective, it was more productive to take a slight detour via the Halleweg and the Boterham. There was another reason to ascend the slopes of Essenbeek via this small detour. Crossing the brook valley required quite a bit of energy because one first had to tackle a steeper slope from Halle, then a bit downhill, and again a long and steep ascent. To transport heavy loads along this route, users needed sufficient horsepower. To get heavily loaded pedestrians or cart transports over the heights, the less steep slope along Halleweg, Boterham, and Steenstraat was a more convenient solution, even if it meant covering five hundred meters more (4700 meters versus 4200 meters). Conversely, from the Vlasmarkt to Halle, it is a 3-1 via the Steenstraat and the Boterham.

Dromos