Netherlands faces serious traffic issues

The Netherlands has seen traffic congestion increase by a small percentage in the first six months of 2017 when compared with the same period during 2016. This follows a three year period in which the country’s traffic volumes have grown significantly year by year. The research into the traffic data has been carried out by travel and transport body ANWB. Of note is that peak period traffic flows during the morning have not resulted in congestion, while the evening rush hours have seen more delays to journeys. The city of Rotterdam saw particularly bad traffic, with congestion increasing 13%.

However there is concern that far more serious traffic congestion could occur in the future due to potential technical issues with the country’s road bridges and road tunnels. The issue has been highlighted in a study carried out by research bureau Sweco. Technical problems with the 750 bridges and 22 tunnels require attention and the work will have to be phased so as to prevent congestion problems from spiralling.