[NL] Roads and Motorways in the Netherlands • Autosnelwegen

[CborG]

Some of the widest highways in Europe can be found in NL, especially around Rotterdam:

A4, the western part of the ring road around Rotterdam:



A15, the sourtern part:





A16, van Brienenoordbrug:



And the widest highway in the Netherlands, also the A16:

[ChrisZwolle]

That last image are actually two motorways; the A15 and A16 Motorway. Just a bit north (Van Brienenoord Bridge) is the busiest road in The Netherlands. Some 250.000 vehicles cross this bridge every day, it is busier than any German Autobahn, and is know to be one of the busiest roads of Europe. Competing the London beltway, and second to the Moscow and Madrid beltways.

[ChrisZwolle]

Here in NL, traffic Jams are notorious. With a little rain and a very little snow around The Hague (Den Haag), we have immediatly a huge traffic jam, which spreads like a virus throughout the Randstad region.

This was the situation just before 6pm.



A lot of these very busy motorways (AADT up to 250.000) have only 2 lanes per direction, for instance parts of the A4 from Leiden to Amsterdam, and parts of the A12 from The Hague to Gouda, and the A20 from Rotterdam to Gouda.
Also the A9 north of Haarlem has only 2 lanes per direction. But also the A27 and A28 near Utrecht, and the A2 south of Utrecht. Well, the jam today on the A2 was quite big, but we've seen it (many times) before.

Another worse thing is, that most intercity routes from the Randstad region towards Germany and Belgium are only 2x2 lanes, and have enourmous amounts of truck-traffic. On the A1, A12, A15, A16, A27, A28 and A67 the right lane is almost completely taken by trucks.

Some motorways have over 100.000 vehicles a day, and still have only 2x2 lanes, like the A28 near Amersfoort and Zwolle, the A4 north of Leiden, the A2 south of Utrecht, the A15 east of Rotterdam, the A20 northeast of Rotterdam, the A12 east of The Hague, the A50 near Arnhem etc.

That makes the Dutch traffic-jam-solutions very complicated. You widen one road, and the traffic jams continue on an motorway next to it. This problem came sinds 1990, when there wasn't almost any road wideningproject since.

Normal rushhours have about some 300km of traffic jam, that is 2 times more than in Germany, which have 5 times more inhabitants.

[Verso]

^ What about traffic jams in Ruhr? That metropolitan area is even larger than Randstad.

Anyway, thanks for the photos, they are nice, we don't often get an opportunity to see a new motorway in the Netherlands, hehe.

[ChrisZwolle]

Traffic jams in the Ruhr are notorious, but not as extensive as in the Randstad regio. For instance, our busiest road is twice as busy as the busiest road in the Ruhr valley (A40).

Normal evening rushhours here are twice the length in whole Germany. So you can see our traffic problem is much bigger, which doesn't say Germany hasn't got traffic problems.

Normal morning rushhours here give some 300km of traffic jam, and evening jams about 200 - 300 kms. But those are regular rushhours, and many are more busy.

Tomorrow, you will see what a busy rushhour is in NL; a lot of snow (10cm) is expected during the evening rushhour. The record today stands at 950km of traffic jam, see if we shall break it...or not.

[ChrisZwolle]

Today: normal rushhour, around 5pm.

[Nephasto]

Originally Posted by Chris1491

A lot of these very busy motorways (AADT up to 250.000) have only 2 lanes per direction, for instance parts of the A4 from Leiden to Amsterdam, and parts of the A12 from The Hague to Gouda, and the A20 from Rotterdam to Gouda.
Also the A9 north of Haarlem has only 2 lanes per direction. But also the A27 and A28 near Utrecht, and the A2 south of Utrecht. Well, the jam today on the A2 was quite big, but we've seen it (many times) before.

Another worse thing is, that most intercity routes from the Randstad region towards Germany and Belgium are only 2x2 lanes, and have enourmous amounts of truck-traffic. On the A1, A12, A15, A16, A27, A28 and A67 the right lane is almost completely taken by trucks.

Some motorways have over 100.000 vehicles a day, and still have only 2x2 lanes, like the A28 near Amersfoort and Zwolle, the A4 north of Leiden, the A2 south of Utrecht, the A15 east of Rotterdam, the A20 northeast of Rotterdam, the A12 east of The Hague, the A50 near Arnhem etc.

That makes the Dutch traffic-jam-solutions very complicated. You widen one road, and the traffic jams continue on an motorway next to it. This problem came sinds 1990, when there wasn't almost any road wideningproject since.

Normal rushhours have about some 300km of traffic jam, that is 2 times more than in Germany, which have 5 times more inhabitants.

Well, it seems that the Netherlands needs a major investment program in it's motorways, and not just an enlargement here and there.

Big problems take big measures (big investments) to be solved.

I want to see all Dutch motorways with 4 lanes per direction!!

[Joshapd]

Originally Posted by Chris1491

Traffic jams in the Ruhr are notorious, but not as extensive as in the Randstad regio. For instance, our busiest road is twice as busy as the busiest road in the Ruhr valley (A40).

Normal evening rushhours here are twice the length in whole Germany. So you can see our traffic problem is much bigger, which doesn't say Germany hasn't got traffic problems.

Normal morning rushhours here give some 300km of traffic jam, and evening jams about 200 - 300 kms. But those are regular rushhours, and many are more busy.

Tomorrow, you will see what a busy rushhour is in NL; a lot of snow (10cm) is expected during the evening rushhour. The record today stands at 950km of traffic jam, see if we shall break it...or not.

There were hardly any big traffic jams, even less then normal!

[Joshapd]

Originally Posted by Nephasto

Well, it seems that the Netherlands needs a major investment program in it's motorways, and not just an enlargement here and there.

Big problems take big measures (big investments) to be solved.

I want to see all Dutch motorways with 4 lanes per direction!!

Belief me, that would never happen! Not in this country were everybody is a nimby

[Jeroen669]

Originally Posted by Nephasto

I want to see all Dutch motorways with 4 lanes per direction!!

If you would say all Dutch railways should get 4 tracks, it would be more realistic.

[ChrisZwolle]

Originally Posted by mij2

There were hardly any big traffic jams, even less then normal!

Yeah unbelievable! Even traffic experts are stunned by wat happened, they expected 500km of traffic jam and it was... 15km

[SkyView]

Originally Posted by Chris1491

Traffic jams in the Ruhr are notorious, but not as extensive as in the Randstad regio. For instance, our busiest road is twice as busy as the busiest road in the Ruhr valley (A40).

Normal evening rushhours here are twice the length in whole Germany. So you can see our traffic problem is much bigger, which doesn't say Germany hasn't got traffic problems.

Normal morning rushhours here give some 300km of traffic jam, and evening jams about 200 - 300 kms. But those are regular rushhours, and many are more busy.

Tomorrow, you will see what a busy rushhour is in NL; a lot of snow (10cm) is expected during the evening rushhour. The record today stands at 950km of traffic jam, see if we shall break it...or not.

You are really proud of so much traffic jams in your country, aren't you ?

Your comparison only proves that Germany has a much better traffic handling than the Netherlands, that's all.

[Quintana]

Or better drivers

[th0m]

Yeah those trafficjams really aren't something to be proud of. Then again, there is no clear-cut answer.

[ChrisZwolle]

Originally Posted by SkyView

You are really proud of so much traffic jams in your country, aren't you ?

No. It states, that there really have to be done something with these traffic-jams. A trip on a motorway outside urban areas of 50km takes 2 hours, and that is ridiculous.

Your comparison only proves that Germany has a much better traffic handling than the Netherlands, that's all.

They certainly have. They have long distance 2x3 lanes motorways, we haven't got that, even not inside the Randstad region. But traffic patterns in Germany and The Netherlands are quite different. Germans have a much better Bundesstraße-network, than we have in National and Provincial roads.

[Jeroen669]

Originally Posted by Skyview

You are really proud of so much traffic jams in your country, aren't you ?

No, but we have lots of thing to be proud of, to reduce those traffic jams!

- Betuwelijn (cargo railway)
- HSL (high speed railway)
- Randstadrail (degradation from a railway to a tramway)
- Kilometerheffing (paying for using the freeway)

[ChrisZwolle]

Well, not only motorways have traffic jams. I drive every day 14km to work, on the ringroad of Zwolle. In rushhours it takes 50 minutes to handle those 14kms

[Rebasepoiss]

Isn't Holland the only country in the world with 100% lighted motorways?

[Joshapd]

No, AFAIK I know Belgium has more lighted highways then the Netherlands.

[ChrisZwolle]

Originally Posted by Rebasepoiss

Isn't Holland the only country in the world with 100% lighted motorways?

Thats Belgium. In the Netherlands is about 1 / 3rd lit.