Traditional Easter Dutch traffic jams strike again

An annual tradition in the Netherlands: After a long weekend of eggs, chocolate and celebrations the entire nation comes together in a nationwide gridlock. Odds are you were either in one earlier today or are reading this while looking out over an endless line of Dutch traffic ahead of you.

Today has been no different with a 370 kilometers (229 mi) total worth of traffic jams at 8:30AM, according to the Traffic Information Service (VID), striking especially hard earlier in the morning on the notorious A1 (Amsterdam-Oldenzaal) highway. Also affected is the A12 (Arnhem-Utrecht) with minor delays near Maanderbroek/Veenendaal and the A27 near Apeldoorn is affected by emergency repairs but with minimal delay.

The Netherlands is generally notorious for high traffic density, and ensuing congestions, especially around the Randstad-cities, with some of the most intense traffic points around Utrecht, Amsterdam’s A10 highway with the Coentunnel to Zaanstad in particular and the A13 highway between Rotterdam-The Hague holds the crown as the busiest highway in the nation.

Dutch Traffic Advice

It’s always strongly recommended to avoid aforementioned highways during peak (office) hours as you are almost always certain to hit traffic. Be sure to use your phone or GPS with the latest updated traffic information if you must, it will often be able to guide you around them. But, as a word of advice, look into parallel running roads during peak hours, though top speed is usually slower you will more than often gain on those on the highway because of reduced traffic density. Though train tickets aren’t cheap in the Netherlands, they are a great alternative to the car, especially given the regular traffic delays – in some areas however buses have their own highway lane that they can use without facing other traffic, check your route online in order to find out if this is an alternative for you.

Future Traffic Efforts

In the near future traffic will most likely get worse before it gets better, with the Dutch economy making strides traffic will likely even further intensify, however there is a glimmer of hope – the pragmatic Dutch spirit has made both the local and national governments invest strongly in both road improvement and alternative transportation such as the infamous Noord-Zuidlijn, a subway connecting Amsterdam’s North and South city district which could potentially massively reduce both traffic density and environmental pollution of the A10-highway. Both the subway and other road projects are scheduled for delivery in the coming years.

We hope you had a great Easter Weekend and can shake off your traffic frustrations, God willing tomorrow will be a regular traffic day again. Drive safely.