Minister Mark Harbers of Infrastructure and Water Management sees no point in contributing to the connection between the A8 and the A9. He said this yesterday in a committee meeting of the House of Representatives in response to CDA member Harry van der Molen. The province cannot afford the costs of more than 900 million for a deepened highway itself and looked emphatically to the government.
The activists of Houd Broekpolder Leefbaar and the neighborhood committee Busch en Dam will be pleased with this news, as will Landscape Noord-Holland. They responded earlier full of disbelief on the news that the so-called Golf Course variant had been chosen, right through the Defense Line of Amsterdam. The Defense Line is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
A whole package of measures would not harm the Defense Line, but would actually improve it, said deputy Jeroen Olthof.
He did indicate that he was facing a ‘major financial challenge’, because the costs amount to more than 900 million. “It is impossible for the province to bear these costs alone and we will not start the next phase without a view of financing.”
Minister not in talks with province
Van der Molen asked himself in the committee meeting wonder whether Minister Harbers was already in talks with the province about the connection and the shortage of financing. He then indicated that agreements had already been made in 2013: the central government would take up the A8/A7 project and the province would take up the A8/A9 connection.
“So those are really the agreements that were made at the time, including the agreement that the government cannot contribute financially to the connection between the A8 and A9,” said Harbers.
“If the question was therefore whether I am prepared to discuss that specific project with the province, then I will invoke that agreement and then that is also a reason for me not to start a conversation about it.” That means the connection between the two highways is now further away than ever.
The province will provide a response later.