Netherlands needs to invest billions more in mobility; Infrastructure is crumbling

The Netherlands needs to invest 2 to 3 billion euros extra per year in mobility, to maintain and expand the country’s networks, according to municipalities, provinces, and the mobility sector. Without that investment, the mobility infrastructure will crumble and the whole of the Netherlands will be stuck, they said in a warning to the national government on Wednesday, the Telegraaf reports.

Harry van der Maas, Zeeland deputy and chairman of mobility at the Interprovincial Consultation (IPO), pointed at the Zeeland bridge over the Oosterschelde between Goes and Zierikzee. “The bridge is in danger of reaching the end of its lifespan. Moreover, it was built without even imagining that so much and such heavy traffic would pass through,” he told the Telegraaf. Closing that bridge for a long time because patchwork maintenance wasn’t enough would be a disaster, he said.

“It must not become a second Merwede Bridge,” Van der Maas said. “Or look at the Thoolse Bridge, where there is already a weight and speed restriction. Or the Van Brienenoord Bride, or the problem with the A7.” The viaducts and railways always require urgent maintenance.

On Wednesday, the IPO, the Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG), and the Mobility Alliance, an umbrella organization for dozens of organizations and companies in the mobility sector, appealed to the national government to structurally invest more in mobility. “Our prosperity depends on mobility. Our business climate, our quality of life. But the budgets are structurally inadequate to keep the railways, roads, and waterways up to standards. We can’t keep up,” Van der Maas said.

The municipalities and provinces point out that mobility is crucial for work, leisure, and healthcare, impacting Netherlands residents in all aspects of their lives. “Without mobility, your quality of life, your social life, comes under pressure,” Van der Maas said.