Transport minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen has bowed to public pressure and agreed to set up a new investigation into plans to widen the A27 near Utrecht to a 14-lane highway.

Parliament is divided on the motorway expansion plan, which the minister says is essential to ensure better traffic flow on the busy roads around Utrecht. Locals are also angry at the move.
The minister’s original plan involves cutting down 150 trees and sacrificing part of a country park. Schultz van Haegen says the new research will take six months and she will continue with preparations for the road-widening scheme in the meantime.