The Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management has put the brakes on a whole series of road construction projects because of a lack of ‘nitrogen room’. But limited manpower and rising costs also play a role.
The Ministry of Infrastructure pauses seventeen projects. There are fourteen roads and three waterways in total. This includes a project that should improve traffic flow at the Rottepolderplein and Hoevelaken traffic junctions, but also the widening of the A58 between Eindhoven and Tilburg and the A27 between Zeewolde and Eemnes. Work will also be paused on the A15 Papendrecht-Gorinchem, the A1/A30 at Barneveld, the A1/A35 Azelo-Buren interchange, the A2 Deil-Vught along Den Bosch, the A67 Leenderheide-Geldrop, the A4 Haaglanden-N14 and the N35 Wijthmen-Nijverdal. The same applies to work on the Volkerak locks and the Kreekrak locks.
Projects that make N-roads safer are excluded, as are projects that enable the accessibility of 400,000 homes that will be built up to and including 2030. Paused projects will be resumed as soon as nitrogen space is available again.
For Minister Mark Harbers (Infrastructure) it feels “very double”. He finds it “disappointing” that the projects are not going ahead, but “on the other hand, we also see that it is not possible in the short term”. The minister had already announced earlier this year that projects would be paused because there is currently no room for nitrogen. However, the government will continue with maintenance of existing infrastructure. By now pausing these seventeen projects, a total of €4 billion will be released. As early as 2019, then-Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen warned of possible delays in road construction due to nitrogen.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl