25 concrete blocks fall off truck causing major traffic jam between Rotterdam & Breda

More than two dozen large concrete blocks fell off a truck traveling southbound on the A16 near the A59 interchange. The incident happened at the start of the Thursday afternoon rush hour, causing major traffic delays on routes between Rotterdam and Breda.

In total, there were “25 concrete blocks of 1,000 kilograms,” according to travel association ANWB. It was not immediately clear how the blocks fell off the truck near Langeweg, infrastructure agency Rijkswaterstaat said.

Two of the three southbound lanes were closed, as well as the shoulder, according to Rijkswaterstaat. The speed limit for the open lane was cut in half to 50 kilometers per hour, causing delays and additional travel time of 160 minutes, a figure that was still rising by 5:45 p.m.

The main alternate route using the eastbound A15 was also backed up due to a car that caught fire near Alblasserdam. Two of four lanes were closed, as well as the shoulder. Road workers were still trying to clean up that mess, with a 12 kilometer traffic jam built up.

To make matters even more challenging, traffic was also building further east on the A15, including at the junction with the A27. The A29 in and out of Rotterdam is also closed until September 1 for roadworks.

Road users found themselves in well over 300 kilometers of traffic jams on Thursday afternoon. The vast majority of the worst traffic jams were immediately south and east of Rotterdam.