Unpleasant rush hour as A8 closes near Amsterdam, gradual train restart near Utrecht

The Tuesday evening rush hour kicked off with problems facing both road users and train passengers. There were lengthy traffic jams in and around Amsterdam due to an overturned truck on the A8 near Zaandam, but also problems on the A28, the A4, and A12, among others. Meanwhile, the ongoing issues with overhead lines above the railroad near Utrecht were only fully resolved at 4:45 p.m.

A truck carrying a cargo of clay and soil overturned, forcing the authorities to close the northbound lanes of the A8 motorway from Amsterdam to Zaandam. Those lanes will be closed until early Wednesday morning, while the reverse direction will be shut for planned maintenance from 8 p.m.

The incident happened near Zaanstad-Assendelft at around 8:30 a.m. The dump truck loaded with clay toppled over on the road and shoulder. A crane was brought in to carefully right the truck, and another vehicle was needed to scoop up the lost cargo. Earlier in the day, infrastructure agency Rijkswaterstaat said it had expected to be able to finish the emergency repair work by 4 p.m.

“In addition to this work, 48 meters of guardrail and asphalt was damaged, and that had to be repaired instantly,” said Rijkswaterstaat. The guardrail had to be replaced, and the asphalt had to be cut away and repaired.

But this led to traffic being detoured to either the A5 or A9, depending on the destination. Traffic was already jammed on the A9 and the A10 ring road around northern and western Amsterdam at 4:45 p.m. This portion of the ring connects directly with the A8.

There was also significant stop-and-go traffic on the A28, causing another problem in the Utrecht region. A multi-vehicle crash by Nieuleusen caused delays to top 45 minutes for drivers headed towards Hoogeveen.

Drivers should expect delays due to the road works, said the road management company. Traffic at Zaanstad-Westerkoog will be diverted from the motorway. Traffic towards Alkmaar will be diverted via the A5 and A9 near the node Coenplein.

Earlier in the day, issues with the overhead lines caused trains to be canceled between Utrecht Central Station and Amersfoort Central Station, affecting passenger rail routes between Utrecht and Groningen, Zwolle, Leeuwarden, Almelo and Enschede. The station in Utrecht is the busiest in the Netherlands by passenger volume, handling an average of anywhere from 225,000 to 275,000 passengers per day.

The defective lines were found between Bilthoven and Amersfoort Centraal. The issue was previously expected to be resolved around noon but was only resolved just before rush hour, with time needed to get trains running back on schedule.