Traffic jams expected on Monday as Germany implements border controls

On Monday, Germany is implementing border controls and that will likely cause busy roads in the Netherlands. The ANWB expects traffic jams on various roads in the border region.

Germany also implemented border controls during the European Football Championship this summer. Those caused delays of up to 45 minutes. Road users can expect similar delays this time around, the ANWB said.

The biggest jams resulting from the border checks will likely be on the A12 from Arnhem to Oberhausen, the A67 from Venlo to Duisburg, and the A76 near Heerlen.

The ANWB reminded motorists heading toward Germany to take their passports - a driver’s license is not enough. “You can identify yourself in the Netherlands with your driver’s license, but that document is not valid in Germany. So you really have to be able to show a passport or ID card,” an ANWB spokeseprson told ANP.

Germany hopes to keep terrorists and undocumented migrants out of the country with these border checks. Public pressure has been mounting on the German government to do something about immigration after a rejected asylum seeker fatally stabbed three people in Solingen.

Joris Bengevoord, mayor of Winterswijk and chairman of Euregio, a partnership of 24 Dutch and 104 German municipalities in the border area, understands that Germany wants to take measures, but he worries about the impact of the border controls on the region. “If you cross the border once a year, it is manageable. But there are also people who have to cross the border for or five times a day, for example, for work or shopping. If you have to wait every time, that is very annoying for the residents of this area,” the Winterswijk mayor said. “You want people to be able to cross the border freely.”