New four-km stretch of Dutch motorway will cost €1.2bn

Building work on a controversial new four-kilometer motorway linking Vlaardingen with Rozenburg and providing a shortcut to the port of Rotterdam has been kicked off by infrastructure minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen.

The new A24 includes a tunnel underneath the river Scheur which separates the two towns, shortening travel time to four minutes instead of half an hour, the minister said.

The project will cost €1.2bn and users will pay a toll until the €316m of the investment has been earned back. It will open in 2024.

Rotterdam port, the transport sector and businesses have welcomed the new motorway. ‘Accessibility is key,’ infrastructure director of the port Ronald Paul told the Volkskrant. ‘The port not only needs to be accessed via waterways and rail but also by road.’

Paul also said the new road will relieve congestion on the A15. ‘Predictions are that if the decision hadn’t been made by 2025 the morning rush hour will merge into the evening rush hour. Every half hour spent in a traffic jam costs money,’ VK quotes him as saying.

However, ANWB traffic information manager Arnoud Broekhuis says an extra tunnel link is welcome but may not prove a long-term solution. ‘It makes the traffic network more robust. Now, if the A15 is blocked everybody is stuck. But whether it will prevent traffic jams remains to be seen.’

Bearded reedlings

On the other side of the Scheur, people are less contented. The new road will skirt a recreational area and cut through the Rietputten nature reserve, home to populations of bitterns, bluethroats and bearded reedlings.

Objections by environmental organisations were rejected by the Council of State in June.

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