Dutch Minister Van Nieuwenhuizen and State Secretary Van Veldhoven have set aside more than 2.6 billion euros from the Infrastructure Fund to ensure the maintenance of roads, railways and waterways. This is to mitigate the effects of increasing and ever heavier traffic.
On 15 September, the Minister and State Secretary have announced the first measures of the major task of maintaining and renovating roads, railways, bridges, locks, tunnels and viaducts. Many locks, bridges, tunnels and rail links have lasted for 75 years and need an update. With the application of new techniques, the infrastructure becomes more sustainable, reliable and efficient in maintenance.
Minister Van Nieuwenhuizen: ‘The Dutch economy is doing well. And we can see that. It’s getting ever busier on the roads. This places very high demands on our infrastructure. I want the basis to be in order so that people can move around safely and quickly. A hardworking, successful country with a thriving economy deserves a strong foundation.’
Locks and waterways
In addition to the large reservation for infrastructure maintenance, Minister Van Nieuwenhuizen is giving a major boost to the Dutch waterways with 100 million euros from the Infrastructure Fund in 2020. For example, 10 million euros will be made available for improvements to the berths of ferry services on the Wadden Sea, 14.5 million euros for tackling various locks on the main Lemmer-Delfzijl waterway and 10 million euros will go to the Maas-Waal Canal, where, among other things, the old Weurt lock will be renovated. The measures will enable skippers to pass through the locks more quickly and there will be less delays on the waterways.
