The Dutch road network is becoming increasingly congested, which means that in 2040 the smallest disruptions in traffic can cause traffic jams at lightning speed. This is apparent from the Integrated Mobility Analysis (IMA) of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. With high economic and demographic growth, car use will skyrocket, causing congestion to double in 2040 compared to 2018, the report said. The road network is then so congested that all traffic drives below the speed limit and minor disruptions quickly lead to congestion, even outside peak hours. This applies to roads around large cities as well as in the regions.

“This report is a distress signal, because without additional investments in our roads, we will be stuck in 2040. The Netherlands is expected to continue to grow, both economically and in terms of population. On balance, this means more passenger and freight traffic. These numbers don't lie: if we want to keep up with that growth, we have to keep investing in infrastructure."

Infrastructure gets clogged
According to the report, freight transport grows in terms of weight transported at low and high economic growth in all modes: by road by 5% to 27%, by rail by 32% to 55% and by inland shipping by 6% to 20% until 2040. This leads to congested roads, water and railways, even with low economic growth, the report concludes. Even if the government implements the current investment program – the MIRT. The analysis also takes into account that more people will work from home in the future and will make more use of public transport.

“We really need to get rid of the idea that we will be rid of traffic jams after the corona crisis: that is really an illusion. This report underlines once again that we will not solve the traffic jam problem only with more trains or working from home. Of course, more asphalt is not a goal in itself, and I welcome any investment in improving our mobility, but our roads are only getting busier. And we will soon stop again and even more massively if a new cabinet does not invest in those roads in time”.

3 billion extra
TLN, together with the Mobility Alliance, is calling for an additional 3 billion euros to be made available on a structural basis for investments in infrastructure. With that annual additional investment, we will return to the level of ten years ago in terms of accessibility expenditure as a percentage of GDP. Transport and Logistics Netherlands.

Also read: Financial support for public transport also in 2022

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