The decision of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management to postpone the widening of several highways in Brabant has little understanding at VNO-NCW. According to the employers’ organization, this means that the province will only become more clogged up in the coming years. “This is dramatic.”
“We already felt the storm coming,” says Jan van Mourik of the Brabant branch of VNO-NCW. However, that does not mean that the news came less hard last Friday. “Projects that we have been waiting for years are now being shut down again.”
By this he refers to the widening of, among other things, the A58 between Breda and Tilburg, the A67 between Eindhoven and Geldrop and the A2 near Den Bosch. According to Van Mourik, the new postponement of those projects is disastrous. “You can now see the consequences of the closure of the Haringvliet bridge. Just listen to the traffic reports on the radio. That does not make you happy.”
“I have to do with the people of Brabant.”
And those traffic jams will only increase in the coming years, he thinks. “The economy continues to grow, and so does traffic. We simply need three-lane roads in busy places. I really feel for the people of Brabant.”
Whether after the new postponement there is now also a threat of permanent cancellation? “That is a scenario that we absolutely do not want to think about,” says Van Mourik firmly. “We already have zero understanding for this decision.”
Minister Mark Harbers said last week that the decision to postpone the projects feels ‘very double’. According to him, it is disappointing that the projects will not continue for the time being. “But on the other hand, we see that it is not possible now.” As a result of the decision, up to 4 billion euros will be released to maintain the existing roads.
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