Rijkswaterstaat advises to avoid the Utrecht region on Sunday due to closure of the A2

Road users would do well to avoid the Utrecht region on Sunday due to the closure of the A2. This will prevent extra travel time, Rijkswaterstaat reported on Sunday. On Saturday, the closure, together with accidents on the A27 and extra traffic around Vianen due to a festival at the busiest time, led to almost an hour of extra travel time.

The A2 from Utrecht towards Den Bosch has been closed from Friday evening until Monday 05:00 a.m. from the Oudenrijn junction to the Everdingen junction. This is the last weekend this motorway section will be closed for work. Recently, the A2 has been closed more often on the weekend for major maintenance, which has led to major traffic jams on several occasions.

Rijkswaterstaat had previously called for people to avoid the roads around Utrecht this weekend, but despite this, it was busy again on Saturday. According to the government agency, delays decreased during the evening thanks to traffic measures taken. Traffic lights were kept on red or green for longer, and traffic controllers were deployed to improve the flow.

"On Sunday, 22 September, closures will remain in effect on both the A2 towards Den Bosch and the A1 towards Apeldoorn. Road users should expect at least 30 minutes delays," according to Rijkswaterstaat. In addition to the call to avoid the Utrecht region, Rijkswaterstaat also asks road users not to look for shortcuts in traffic jams on the motorways but to follow the diversion signs. Local road users are advised to postpone their journey or use public transport or a bicycle.

Although Rijkswaterstaat repeatedly asked people to avoid the highways around Utrecht until Monday morning, many did not comply. This led to increased congestion and chaos on the roads at the beginning of the weekend, De Gelderlander reports.