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In these roads, government invests millions of dollars in coming years

November 18, 2024

Biggest maintenance job ever on our roads

Central government: “In the coming years, we face the biggest maintenance task ever for our roads, waterways and railroads. This requires a lot of manpower, materials and investments, but the maintenance is necessary to keep the Netherlands moving now and in the future. As a result, less money is available for major new investments in the Dutch infrastructure. New projects, especially for road construction, are also difficult to implement due to lack of financial resources, nitrogen space and human capacity. But we are looking at what can be done to keep the Netherlands accessible and where possible to improve accessibility.”

2.5 billion euros

The government has 2.5 billion euros available to make new residential areas easily accessible. With this, the government wants to stimulate and facilitate the construction of new housing. These are measures in places where new homes can be built in the short term. Exactly which projects are involved will be decided at a later date.

Despite some major construction projects being paused in the previous cabinet period, about 700 million euros are being invested in addressing roads and accessibility measures in the regions.

Last week, Minister Barry Madlener and State Secretary Chris Jansen, along with Housing and Spatial Planning Minister Mona Keijzer, sat down with the provinces to talk about their plans for the coming years.

700 million euros for roads and traffic flow

The cabinet wants to set aside 200 million euros to start road projects that were previously paused. Regions where projects have been paused have submitted several proposals to improve accessibility. 206 million euros will be spent on road improvements or other measures to improve traffic flow on the roads. Of this, €47 million will go to measures on the A1/A30 and A4 Haaglanden-N14 and €159 million will be made available for measures that reduce bottlenecks such as tackling cut-through traffic, stimulating public transport and cycling and/or an employer approach. These measures will be implemented by the regions themselves.

The following projects are involved:

For better traffic flow on the main road network, the cabinet wants to reserve 290 million euros. Regional partners can make proposals in the coming period for small measures to improve traffic flow on the national road network. Final decisions on measures to improve traffic flow and the start-up of paused road projects will be made in spring 2025.

Minister Madlener: “To keep the Netherlands accessible, we must invest heavily in maintenance, but also in construction. Projects that have been paused must be started as soon as possible so that road users will soon be able to drive through better again. The car and thus our roads are an important condition for the feeling of freedom. That is why we are also investing 700 million euros in smaller measures to improve traffic flow on the road network and accessibility in the regions.”

Northern and Eastern Netherlands

During the Northern Netherlands talks, no decision has yet been made on how to proceed with the Lely Line and the Lower Saxony Line. The two rail lines potentially offer greater job opportunities for Northern Netherlands residents and important facilities such as hospitals, schools and cultural institutions will become more accessible. In addition, the rail lines could open up many new homes. But both projects require substantial investments. The national government and the Northern Netherlands have agreed that further discussions are needed in the coming period before deciding how to follow up on these projects.

Big ambitions

State Secretary Chris Jansen: “The coalition program and the outline agreement list the Lely Line and Lower Saxony Line as important railroad lines. I would therefore like to move forward with both projects. At the moment, however, the time is not yet ripe for this. With the Cabinet, we have not yet taken a position on how best to proceed with these two projects. On the one hand, we have great ambitions and see that both rail lines can be of great added value to the Northern Netherlands. On the other hand, there is currently no insight into the financial resources needed for these projects. Therefore, I have agreed with the Northern regional parties that we will meet again before the end of the year to discuss a follow-up for the Lely Line and Lower Saxony Line.”

North Netherlands did agree on 75 million euros that had previously become available for adjustments to Meppel station. Among other things, the money will be used to modify Meppel railway yard where a fourth platform track will be built. This will increase capacity and improve timetable reliability.

N33 Middle and North

It has been agreed with the region to combine the two sections of the N33 into one project. An MIRT study for the N33 North (Appingedam-Eemshaven) is currently being conducted. The results of this study will be discussed at the end of 2025. Money has previously been released for the N33 Midden (Zuidbroek – Appingedam) as part of the recovery package for Groningen. This project should be restarted as soon as possible. This will happen as soon as sufficient nitrogen space, money and personnel are available.

ViA15

The Council of State declared the Tracé decision for the ViA15 irrevocable in early October. This means that the A15 will be connected to the A12, improving accessibility in and through the Arnhem-Nijmegen region. This is good news for the region, but also for accessibility between the port of Rotterdam and Germany. Due to the long appeal procedure, the project was at a standstill for a long time and project teams were phased out. In the coming period, the project organizations of the contractor consortium and Rijkswaterstaat will be rebuilt and work will be done on a new project planning, among other things.

Northwest, southwest and southern Netherlands

Central government and the Amsterdam region have signed the cooperation agreement for the MIRT-Verkenning OV-Verbinding Amsterdam Sloterdijk-Amsterdam Centrum. With this agreement, parties lay down agreements on cooperation in the exploration phase. The study focuses on better accessibility and unlocking by public transport between Sloterdijk and Amsterdam Center, specifically for the first phase of the large-scale housing development in Port-City. This cooperation agreement is an important milestone in the further process.

The Rotterdam The Hague Metropolitan Region and the Ministry agreed last year to jointly invest 550 million euros in the expansion of Rotterdam’s metro network and Randstadrail. These agreements were fleshed out this year. For example, the capacity of metro station Beurs will be increased and traffic flow improved. Also, the track safety of the joint RandstadRail and Metronet tracks will be improved so that more frequent services can be operated here.

Accessibility of Rotterdam Hague metropolitan region

State Secretary Chris Jansen: “A lot of new housing will be built in the coming years. That will mean more travelers. The national government and the region are therefore jointly investing heavily in the accessibility of the Rotterdam The Hague metropolitan region. With 550 million euros, we ensure that public transport in the region can handle the growth in travelers. For example, travelers will soon be able to catch the metro on the Rotterdam-The Hague line every five minutes instead of every ten minutes.”

Second Drieland Train

In the South Region, the Province of Limburg and the State have reached agreements on the reallocation of the state contribution of 36.7 million euros that was intended for the streetcar between Hasselt and Maastricht. The streetcar will not come, but the money will now be spent, among other things, on level crossing safety between Maastricht and Eijsden, allowing a second Drieland train to start running, and the demolition of an old railroad bridge over the Meuse River. In addition, the province is making arrangements with the municipality of Maastricht for a contribution to a bicycle bridge across the Maas.

The construction phase of the Wilhelminakanaal Sluis II project can begin. This project will make the Wilhelminakanaal suitable for class IV vessels, further improving the accessibility of the important hub of Tilburg. The co-financing agreements with the province of North Brabant and the municipality of Tilburg will be laid down in a management agreement early next year.    

Investments nationwide

There will be two pilots for rapid buses in Brabant and North Holland. Bus Rapid Transit is a bus system involving high frequency and speed. The state and the region have agreed to jointly make a maximum of 2 million euros available for the pilot projects. Eindhoven (A50) – Meierij and Haarlem – Schiphol – Amsterdam are the chosen routes for these pilots.

Taking the bike should pay off

It must remain an attractive choice to take the bicycle. Good through-bike routes are important for that. With these routes you cycle safely and comfortably from A to B, without interruptions. The government is going to contribute to this structurally. From 2024 to 2026, a total of 18 million Euro will be invested. This money will be divided over 12 different projects throughout the Netherlands. For example, over 1.3 million euros will be invested in the through-cycling route The Pico Bello Path between Ede and Wageningen. The goal is to have these routes ready in 2028 so that everyone can use them.