Weather blamed as traffic jam chaos grows

9 April 2004

AMSTERDAM — Delays on congested Dutch motorways worsened by 17 percent in the first three months of 2004 compared with the same period last year, the Traffic Information Service (VID) said on Friday.

The VID blamed poor weather conditions for the extra pressure on the nation’s roads. It said for the first time, snowfalls were listed among the top 10 causes of traffic jams.

The long traffic delays recorded on 26 February were responsible for one-third of the total increased traffic jam length. Snowfalls led to 63 jams and a total traffic jam length of 760km, the second-worst day in Dutch motoring history.

But the VID also said Dutch roads were busier than normal in March, newspaper De Telegraaf reported. The 17 percent increase came after the first quarter of 2003 showed an 8.5 percent rise in congestion.

The worst traffic bottleneck in the Netherlands this year was on the A2 between Utrecht and Den Bosch. Traffic jam problems at the Everdingen junction on the A2 have doubled in the past three months.

Jams around the southern city of Eindhoven have also greatly increased. The junction on the A2 at De Hogt on the south-bound lanes is now listed as the nation’s second-worst bottleneck.

Besides the ongoing construction of peak-hour lanes around Eindhoven, the region was also affected by several traffic incidents, which caused long delays.

Roadworks on the A16 are also causing headaches for motorists. The traffic jam problems at Zevenbergschen Hoek on the Rotterdam-bound lanes have almost quadrupled. It is now listed at number nine on the nation’s top-ten traffic jam list.

Subject: Dutch news