News:

The AARoads Wiki is live! Come check it out!

Main Menu

Freeways in the Netherlands

Started by Chris, March 24, 2010, 09:43:35 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

Chris

the Netherlands

map:


The Netherlands is a small country on the North Sea. It has a population of 16.5 million on ~ 16,000 square miles, and thus has the same population density as the state of New Jersey. The Netherlands, however, does not have large cities, Amsterdam is the largest city with a population of 750,000. Western Netherlands is dotted with small to medium sized cities which together form the 8 million population metropolis of the "Randstad". It is a poly-centric urban area with a lot of rural areas in between, with no single city dominating.

The first freeway in the Netherlands opened in 1938, the A12 between Zoetermeer and The Hague. Within 4 years, a small freeway network was developed, mainly in western Netherlands. World War II prevented a nationwide freeway network at that time. The Netherlands was the first country in the world to feature shoulders on all freeways, except where it was deemed too expensive, such as in tunnels.

Just like the United States, the 1950's saw a surge in automobile usage, a trend which continued in the decades to come. By the 1960's, there was a comprehensive freeway network, which was expanded during the 1970's and early 1980's. The anti-freeway sentiment grew larger, and by the 1990's, people thought the solution to stop the growth of mobility was simple not to construct or widen freeways. The era between approximately 1990 and 2004 were very lean years in highway construction. However, mobility growth didn't stop, and traffic congestion got worse and worse, increasing by 10% every year. The 1990's also saw the first shoulder running going into operation, a system which have been expanded since.

Shoulder running was seen as a good solution to ease congestion during peak hours. However, population growth, demographic change and demographic shift still generated more and more traffic, making shoulder running a non-sustainable solution, as they had to open shoulders throughout the day. Rush hour times expanded, now beginning around 6 am to 10 am, and from 3 pm to 7 pm. The recession kicked in in late 2008, and what $ 10 per gallon gasoline didn't achieve, the economy did; reducing congestion. Congestion fell sharply during 2009 and is now back at the mid-2000's level.

Today, the Dutch freeway network is approximately 1,500 miles long, and is one of the densest networks in Europe. However, it has to be noted the Dutch non-freeway network remains extremely undeveloped considering population density, level of welfare and traffic volumes, making the freeway network very vulnerable, because there is no backup system at all. Once you're off the freeway, you'll get into a maze of two-lane roads, dotted with city limits, roundabouts, traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, etc.

I will show some pictures in the next post.


Chris

#1
signage

The signage features the Highway Gothic (Interstate) font, and is now in a transition to a different layout, however, the font will remain the same on freeways. The non-freeway font has been replaced by a smaller font with less spacing.

All the signs have a blue blackground with white letters. A-roads (freeways) have the prefix "A" (Autosnelweg) and then the number in a red square. Non-freeways have the prefix "N" (Niet-autosnelweg) and are in a yellow square with black numbers.

Two-digit roads belong to the national government and are called a "rijksweg". This means there are non-freeways as a "rijksweg" as well, but there are a limited amount of them. 3-digit roads belong to the provincial government, and numbers <400 are almost always signed, numbers >400 are rarely signed, but increasingly common. There are a few 3-digit freeways, which indeed fall under the authority of the provincial government.

All exits are numbered sequentially, but freeway-to-freeway interchanges are not numbered, because it is not considered an "exit to get off the freeway". Exit numbers can be suffixed with an "a" or "b", and are increasingly common due to added exits, required by new development. All exits have a unique name, and they tend to be better known by their name than by their number.
It has to be noted the average distance between two exits or interchanges in all of the Netherlands is approximately 2 miles. This means you usually have the next exit in sight within a minute of the last exit. The exit density is the highest in urban areas, and lowest in rural areas, although exits over 4 miles apart in rural areas are also rare.

Exits and interchanges are generally signed 1200 meters in advance, but if there is an entrance lane from a previous exit closer than that, shorter distances may be used. The word "afrit" means exit, but is now gradually being replaced by the exit symbol, as is the word "knooppunt", which is being replaced by the interchange symbol. Europe is a continent with a high amount of international traffic and many languages, thus symbols are generally better understood than textual signage.

I will show a signage sequence on a freeway-to-freeway interchange which also has a regular exit inside it.

1.


2.


3.


4.


5.


6.


7.


Chris

New signage

A new style of signage is being introduced in the Netherlands since 2008. It is more German-based, with standing arrows which are supposed to reflect the upcoming road layout better, especially in taper situations which are common in the Netherlands.

1. Note the exit symbol instead of the word "afrit".


2.


3. A major change is to place the distance sign after the exit. Previously, it was installed before the exit (300 m before), a major exception in Europe.


Another set:

4. Note the new signage has an awful lot of breaks in place names, a major disadvantage.


5.


6.


7.


Another set:

8. Interchange symbol. Dutch interchange names tend to be named after the tiniest villages, which may be confusing.


9.


10. This should've been an overhead.


Another set:

11. A left exit.


12. there were roadworks at the time.


13. Note the E-numbers on top.


14.



Chris

I occasionally get on an overpass and make some pictures of Dutch freeways from above:

1. A1 eastbound near Amersfoort at noon. You can see the shoulder running is not in operation.


2. A big zoom on A1 towards the west.


3. A shoulder running observation camera. They close the shoulder if there is a breakdown or accident. (Or when traffic volumes are not high enough)


4. A28 looking towards my city, Zwolle around 11 am on a winter morning.


5. Looking at the western terminus of A28 near the town of Hoogeveen.


6. top-notch blacktop on A37 east.


7. Traffic congestion on A1 westbound near Deventer around 11 am.


8. Looking east at the same spot.


9. There was a minor traffic accident approximately 10 miles downstream of this location. This freeway is a major truck corridor.


10. A1 freeway westbound near the town of Rijssen, eastern Netherlands, around noon.


11. A so-called "plus lane" on the left. It works the same as shoulder running, only the shoulder remains available. It's an example of weird Dutch rules where such a left lane is easier to construct than a regular lane.


12. Traffic observation camera on A1 between Deventer and Apeldoorn.


13. A28 near the town of Nunspeet, central Netherlands, with it's wooded median.


14. Exit lanes in the Netherlands are designed at 1,000 feet long. I have never seen longer exit and entrance lanes than in the Netherlands.


15. Looking at the empty A37 freeway near the German border east of Emmen. This is the quietest freeway in the Netherlands at 8,000 AADT.


16. Looking west.


I hope you liked the pics  :cool:


J N Winkler

Quote from: Chris on March 24, 2010, 11:04:36 AM11. A so-called "plus lane" on the left. It works the same as shoulder running, only the shoulder remains available. It's an example of weird Dutch rules where such a left lane is easier to construct than a regular lane.

What are these weird rules, precisely?
"It is necessary to spend a hundred lire now to save a thousand lire later."--Piero Puricelli, explaining the need for a first-class road system to Benito Mussolini

Chris

Well, basically, these "plus lanes" have (almost) the same width as a regular lane. However, due to procedures it takes too long to do a regular widening, so they had to come up with this solution of a plus lane which is only opened during rush hour. Some are restricted by traffic flow, but this one even used to be restricted by time; at 6.30 a traffic jam was occurring, but the plus lane wasn't supposed to be open until 7 am.

So if you drove from Deventer to Apeldoorn, there was a traffic jam from 6.30 to 7.00, then they open the lane and traffic flows again.

The average procedure for a road project (I mean actual procedures, not the time until politicians acknowledge a traffic problem) is 11 years. For example, many projects which are now under construction had their "startnotitie" (initial project documents) in the early to mid-1990's.

It goes like this;

Startnotitie => Trajectnota/MER => Ontwerp-tracébesluit => tracébesluit => tracébesluit onherroepelijk.

or in English:

initial notice => environmental impact assessment => design-record of decision => record of decision => irrevocable

Appeals can be made at every "=>"

A recent law-change made several projects eligible for the accelerated procedures, which can be done in half the time. This still means it takes 6 - 7 years of procedures. Many shoulder running of plus lane operations were constructed as a temporary measure, so a regular widening would follow a few years later. However, during early 2000's it became clear it wasn't "a few years" but rather "15 years".

J N Winkler

Thanks for this explanation.  I wondered if the "plus lane" concept worked in the Netherlands because it was a cheap form of widening which did not require the acquisition of new right-of-way.  ROW acquisition tends to be the bright shining line between projects that can be built quickly and projects that require a protracted planning process, in Britain and also (to a somewhat lesser extent) in the United States.
"It is necessary to spend a hundred lire now to save a thousand lire later."--Piero Puricelli, explaining the need for a first-class road system to Benito Mussolini

Chris

A lot of major freeways constructed in the 1960's had a wide enough ROW to accommodate an extra lane in each direction in the median. Right now we may thank those engineers on our knees for such a futuristic design. The Netherlands is not like Wyoming where you can construct each roadway several hundred feet from each other, so any median wider than a space reservation for a 3rd lane is rare. 

For example like this:



Truvelo

Regarding the plus lane - if it's on the left then why isn't it marked as a regular lane? Even if it's slightly narrower than a regular lane if trucks are banned from the left lane where there's three lanes or more then cars should have no problem traveling at 120 in a narrower lane. We have narrow lanes here where all types of vehicles are allowed in them.
Speed limits limit life

vdeane

The plus lane is similar to how the Thruway does widening, except the Thruway allows the lane to be used all the time (though the one between Rochester and Canandaigua is restricted to cars; don't know about others).
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

Brandon

The plus lane is exactly how IDOT widened I-55 in Will County (IL-53 to I-80).  However, it is a lane meant to be used 100% of the time even with a smaller left shoulder than is usually found on most 3+ lane interstates.  The reason for this was a lack of ROW and to fit the new lanes under existing bridges (some of which have been there since 1956 - pre-interstate!).
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

Chris

Well, a plus lane in the Netherlands is specifically meant to be in operation only during rush hours. This means shortened procedures can be followed, which allows for a faster implementation of this temporary measure. There are a number of locations in the Netherlands with plus lanes now, although the other temporary measure, shoulder running, is still more common.

Scott5114

What happens if you use the plus lane when there's an X on it? Not like they can pull you over if there's so much congestion you can't get to the right, and if the plus lane is about to be opened, they can't rightly put you over in the middle of it...
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

aswnl

Driving on a closed lane (signed by a red X) simply will cost you 150 euro's when caught.
And given the fact of an overload of cameras watching the lane most people won't try...

vdeane

What's so special about a lane being open only part of the day that allows it to skip steps in the design process?  Will it magically be closed when the proper widening happens?  Why not just make it open all the time?  That would be the same as widening the road with a narrower lane.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

aswnl

It isn't open during night hours, and that makes it doesn't change noise contours during the "most sensible" hours. This has been the concept of a lex specialis (special law; "Spoedwet") in which shorter procedures were assigned to dedicated projects mentioned in the law's appendix.

It's more the legal concept than that it has anything to do with traffic or civil construction, you see.

J N Winkler

Thanks for the clarification--this type of "special law" hasn't really been tried in the UK with regard to roads since the 1920's.

Was the option of keeping the additional lane open 24 hours but building soundwalls considered?
"It is necessary to spend a hundred lire now to save a thousand lire later."--Piero Puricelli, explaining the need for a first-class road system to Benito Mussolini

Chris

In traffic noise, the day is divided in Lden (Day, Evening & Night).

Day = 07.00 - 19.00
Evening = 19.00 - 23.00
Night = 23.00 - 07.00

The main problem is that the night period is highly representative in noise calculation, because it is mandatory to add 10 dB to the night period. Almost any road has the night period as representative this way, also because truck shares are higher during the night.

However, rush hour starts around 6.00 - 6.30 am. If the night period was shortened from 23.00 - 06.00, there wasn't such a problem.
But I doubt if adding a lane would really count as a "reconstruction" as described in the Dutch Noise Control Act (i.e. +2 dB). Doubling of traffic volumes usually results in +3 dB. Widening a road is not always a problem according to noise regulations, it is even possible to do this without significant noise mitigation, as long as the road itself isn't changed much (for example a new or significantly changed alignment).

Chris

The Netherlands goes U.S.A.  :cool:



A2 freeway Amsterdam - Utrecht. Currently carries 180,000 vehicles per day but is scheduled to grow to 250,000 vehicles per day. It will be a 10-lane freeway for about 25 kilometers, and a local-express setup with as much as 14 lanes for about 5 km near Utrecht City.

Chris

#19
Same location, 24 years ago:

Bickendan

An at-grade railroad crossing on a motorway? 0.o

Chris

The Netherlands is finally shaping up with some modern up-to-date freeways.

For example, the A2 Amsterdam - Utrecht is being widened to 10 - 12 lanes. Here is a picture.


Truvelo

The last picture seems to be somewhere around here heading north. It seems to follow the model of the M25 widening around London a few years ago with a 12 lane stretch between two closely spaced exits. I wonder if there was an alternative plan for C/D roads and a complexed series of ramps to avoid weaving? It seems weaving is a factor as the exit to the south has been remodeled from a diamond to allow the north facing ramps to be moved further south to increase the weaving section.
Speed limits limit life

Chris

Abcoude is not the busiest interchange on this road, and exits are spaced quite far apart between Amsterdam and Utrecht, so it was not really useful to construct a local-express setup. Traffic volumes barely change between Amsterdam and Utrecht (a solid 250,000 AADT is projected for 2020).

250,000 AADT is bizarre for a rural freeway, but the A2 also serves traffic that would otherwise use the never-constructed A3 from Amsterdam to Rotterdam. It's kind of weird a 7.5 million metropolis that exists out of two main urban areas have only two freeways connecting both parts (A2 and A4). A4 is also a 10-lane freeway south of Amsterdam. By 2015, there will be a solid 40 lanes from and to Amsterdam directly. (A8, A4, A1, A2).

mgk920

Quote from: Chris on June 21, 2010, 08:40:21 AM
Abcoude is not the busiest interchange on this road, and exits are spaced quite far apart between Amsterdam and Utrecht, so it was not really useful to construct a local-express setup. Traffic volumes barely change between Amsterdam and Utrecht (a solid 250,000 AADT is projected for 2020).

250,000 AADT is bizarre for a rural freeway, but the A2 also serves traffic that would otherwise use the never-constructed A3 from Amsterdam to Rotterdam. It's kind of weird a 7.5 million metropolis that exists out of two main urban areas have only two freeways connecting both parts (A2 and A4). A4 is also a 10-lane freeway south of Amsterdam. By 2015, there will be a solid 40 lanes from and to Amsterdam directly. (A8, A4, A1, A2).

What was the planned routing of that A3?  Would have gone generally northward from the present day 'ghost' interchange at A16/A20, connecting with the A9 in the area of Amstelveen (I can easily see built-over RsOW on Google air images in both areas   :banghead: ), or could one still be built as a shorter 'cut off', perhaps between the A12 on the east end of Woerden and the A2 at Breukelen?

That (Amsterdam-Rotterdam) has got to be one of the worst 'weak spots' in the entire European highway network.  What is the most common routing for highway traffic between those two?

Mike



Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.