Busy rush hour expected as farmers head to Gelderland to protest

Farmers from all over the country are on their way to Stroe, Gelderland, to demonstrate against the Cabinet’s nitrogen plans this afternoon. Public works department Rijkswaterstaat and travelers’ organization ANWB both warned that morning- and evening rush hour will be extra busy.

In some places, farmers drive their tractors on highways, even though the protest organizers asked them not to use the highways. In Zeeland, the police stopped a group of farmers overnight on the A58. Just before 6:30 a.m., Rijkswaterstaat saw no more tracters on the A58. The Zeeland police could not be reached for comment.

A procession of 90 tractors departed from the Groningen village of Vlagtwedde at 5:00 a.m. Henk Wortelboer reports that they expect to arrive in Stroe around noon. More farmers on tractors will join the procession on the way. Wortelboer said that they’ll drive part of the way on the A28. He said he finds that safer than gouging through the towns. According to Wortelboer, they informed the police but did not get permission.

According to Rijkswaterstaat, a few hundred tractors are also driving on the A2 at the Ekkersweijer junction near Eindhoven. They are on their way to the A50 northbound. The police also closed the end of the A12 towards The Hague, a spokesperson for Rijkswaterstaat said. Road users are advised to take a different route via the A4.

“Where tractors are, we do see problems. Traffic piles up and drives slowly,” said a spokesperson for Rijkswaterstaat. Road users who encounter tractors are advised to adjust their speed and keep their distance.

The Rijkswaterstaat advised people who can work from home to do so on Wednesday. At around 6:30 a.m., Rijkswaterstaat noted about 24 kilometers of traffic jams on the highways, which is typical for a Wednesday morning. It is too early to say how many people listened to the call to work from home, the spokesperson said. 

At 7:20 a.m., the ANWB reported 31 traffic jams on Dutch roads covering 176 kilometers.