Netherlands approves €2bn toll road project

The Dutch cabinet has approved a bill that will fill in a missing piece in the Netherlands’ road network.  

The project involves the construction of the Blankenburg road tunnel west of Rotterdam to link the A15 and the A20 motorways beneath the Nieuwe Maas river. The scheme is important for the further development of the port and its link to the German market. 

Together the extension of the motorway and the tunnel will cost €2bn. The work will be paid for by a toll, however this will be discontinued once the cost of the scheme is recouped.  

Melanie Schultz van Haegen, the Dutch infrastructure and environment minister, said the Blankenburg link and the extension to the A15 would be finished sooner than planned. The extension is due to open between 2019 and 2021. 

Image: The A15 Motorway (Wikimedia Commons/M.M.Minderhoud)