The Haringvliet Bridge that connects West Brabant to South Holland is being renovated and will therefore be closed to all traffic for eight weeks from Friday evening. Many road users have to look for a different route. Municipalities around the bridge are therefore afraid of cut-through traffic and residents are already holding their breath: “I can hardly park my car in the middle of the road.”
Due to the closure of the Haringvliet bridge, there are few other routes. A lot of traffic will cross the Moerdijk bridge via the A16, which is already a busy point around rush hour. Municipalities around the bridge therefore fear even more cut-through traffic on the narrow roads. Drimmelen is one of those municipalities that are already seeing the downpour.
Alderman Tim Simons sympathizes with his residents. “The outlying area here already has a lot of cut-through traffic when it gets stuck on the highway. Due to the closure of the Haringvliet Bridge, we expect this to get much worse and that is annoying for our residents.”
“You are only allowed 30 here, but nobody abides by that.”
In the outskirts of Lage Zwaluwe, many houses are built against the dikes. “If a truck rushes through the street, it immediately causes a lot of nuisance.”
Kees Peters lives just outside the village. His house is less than a meter from the road. “You are only allowed 30 here, but nobody adheres to that. Inside we are less bothered by the noise due to good insulation, but outside we have cracks due to traffic.”
Fred van Aart also looks up to the closure of the bridge. “Now that the Haringvliet Bridge is being closed, I am afraid of even more cut-through traffic. They all come through the polders. I already regularly see trucks that have to go to a transport center further away and that don’t belong here, but I’m afraid it will only get more now.”
“I just let it wash over me.”
Alderman Simons says that the municipality will check to limit the nuisance. “You are only allowed to enter all villages within our municipality if you have to be here or have to drop something off. If you do not have a destination in a village, you are not allowed to go there and we can act against that. And that is what we will do in the near future.”
Despite Simons’ promise, local residents have a hard head. “I am only afraid that measures are of no use. They keep driving through here anyway. I can park my car in the middle of the road, but that won’t end well, I’m afraid. I just let it wash over me.”
