The bicycle tunnel to be built at the Vriezerbrug near Vries will cost approximately 7 million euros. That is what the project manager expects. Construction of the tunnel is likely to begin in 2023.
The bicycle tunnel is part of the Assen-Groningen cycle route and is being constructed to put an end to the dangerous bicycle crossing at the Vriezerbrug. Local residents and other interested parties were updated today about the plans in Grand Café de Vriezerbrug.
The municipality of Tynaarlo previously agreed to a bicycle tunnel that will enter the Noord-Willemskanaal. A ‘ground floor’ variant would turn out to be a lot cheaper, but was not seen as an ideal option. The same applied to variants that would not be located along the canal, but ‘further around’.
Maarten Duisterwinkel, project manager for the piece at the Vriezerbrug, calls the current solution ‘special and ambitious’. “You don’t often see that you choose a bicycle tunnel that ends up in the water.”
Since the tender for the project has yet to take place and construction will not start until 2023, little is known about the exact cost. “We assume a maximum of 7 million euros,” says Duisterwinkel. “But of course we don’t know what the construction costs will do in the coming period.”
In the run-up to the project, a few creases will still need to be ironed out. For example, there are questions from residents about the future of entrances and exits at homes, which are partly shared with the cycle route.