Lorries ignoring Merwedebrug ban face €500 fines

Roads agency Rijkswaterstaat is installing traffic cameras on the damaged Merwedebrug near Gorinchem to enforce a ban on lorries, with fines of up to €500 for drivers who ignore it.

The bridge on the A27 has been closed since Saturday to freight traffic after an inspection found the bridge’s steel was weaker than expected in several places, and that it could no longer guarantee the structure would hold under heavy traffic.

The roads agency issued an urgent appeal to trucks to avoid using the bridge but many are still driving over it.

An NOS reporter on the scene counted dozens of trucks in half an hour, including vehicles with Dutch license plates.

The new ban will now be enforced via cameras which will automatically read the license plates. Enforcement will be done together with the police and the public prosecution service. Fines can be as high as €500.

Cars, vans, motorbikes, buses and emergency vehicles can still use the Merwedebrug. Freight traffic is being diverted via the A16 and the A2.