Rijkswaterstaat (RWS), together with the northern administrators, will try to persuade Minister Vincent Karremans (Infrastructure and Water Management, VVD) to find money for major maintenance of northern national highways. According to Drenthe deputy Bart van Dekken, the responsible RWS chief engineer director agreed to this in an interview.
Rijkswaterstaat has temporarily canceled all major maintenance work on roads that were planned in the Northern Netherlands for 2027 and 2028 because the money has run out. Four major road projects in Friesland have also been completely canceled. In Drenthe this concerns work on the A28 and A37. In Groningen this concerns the A28, A7 and the N33 and in Friesland the A7, A32, N31 and A6.
Van Dekken: “I reiterated in the conversation with the chief engineer director that this is unacceptable for the north, and he indicated that Rijkswaterstaat is aware that this is a major problem for the northern Netherlands. The ball must be returned to political The Hague and other choices must be made there.” According to the deputy, RWS “realizes that it is up to the task together with the North to get the ministers of I&W into a different position”.
The Northern Netherlands is downright angry about Rijkswaterstaat’s decision to postpone maintenance on Northern roads. It ranges from ‘unacceptable’ to ‘indignant’ and ‘sour’. The region wants to increase the pressure to change ‘The Hague’.
And employers’ organization VNO-NCW Noord is also angry. Foreman Johannes Bos: “It is not about a new project or a new road or anything. This is necessary maintenance, not a luxury. So this is a political choice. After everything we have had to endure in the Northern Netherlands, it is inexplicable that we seem to be at the back of the queue again.”
For the next two years, Rijkswaterstaat will lack money to replace 92 kilometers of asphalt and maintain 94 viaducts on the northern roads. Road markings and sewers are also not receiving the previously planned maintenance. A spokesperson says that less maintenance means less safe roads. He also states that the risk of disruptions increases.
The enormous renovation task of roads, bridges, tunnels and viaducts has been on the minds of politicians and road builders for months. The wake-up call came in December last year when a multi-year overview by Rijkswaterstaat showed that nationally the infrastructure maintenance backlog is much greater than the available budgets. In 2038, the difference between the budget that the ministry has available and that RWS needs would be 34.5 billion euros. Many bridges, tunnels, locks and roads were built in the same period: the 1950s and 1960s. These have all reached the end of their lifespan and urgently need to be renewed.
The Court of Audit previously warned of a large financial deficit for infrastructure maintenance.