Icy conditions in tunnels causing road closures and lane reductions

Slippery road conditions have occurred on multiple roads in the Netherlands, particularly in and near tunnels, where leaking water has frozen. The freezing is linked to the cold weather, which causes tunnel joints to shrink. A fleet of salt and grit trucks from infrastructure agency Rijkswaterstaat has been on the roads during the holiday period in an attempt to spread as much salt on motorways and national roads amid freezing conditions.

Traffic on the N31 near Harlingen toward the Afsluitdijk has been halted after ice built up on the roadway. According to Rijkswaterstaat, the ice was caused by water leaking through tunnel joints that have shrunk in the cold. Passing vehicles spread the water along the road, where it freezes, creating a large icy patch. Drivers are being rerouted through Midlum and Kimswerd.

A persistent issue with elevated groundwater levels near Hoogeveen has led to icy conditions on the A28. Temperature changes cause the joints of the rail tunnel to expand in warmer weather and shrink in the cold, letting water leak out and freeze.

Although the railway bridge undergoes routine maintenance, a more permanent groundwater solution is planned for the spring. In the meantime, drivers from Assen are being diverted via the N375, with traffic in the other direction passing through Hoogeveen.

Traffic on the A12 toward The Hague has been reduced to a single lane near the Gouwe Aqueduct after water leaking through tunnel wall joints froze on the roadway. Similar slippery conditions have been reported in the Corbulotunnel on the N434 near Leiden, the route linking the A44 and A4 motorways.

Rijkswaterstaat is addressing the icy conditions at all affected sites using various methods, including salting and specialized vehicles like the Firestorm. This machine applies a high-pressure salt solution heated to between 60 and 70 degrees Celsius, which rapidly melts ice on the roadway.

Rijkswaterstaat vehicles spread nearly 112,000 kilograms of salt on 2,250 kilometers of Dutch highways from 7 p.m. on Christmas Day through 1:15 p.m. on Boxing Day. The vehicles were still tackling icy road conditions in Limburg, Zeeland, and Zuid-Holland during the late morning hours, and then in Utrecht, and the Gelderland cities of Arnhem and Nijmegen by early afternoon.

In extreme conditions, the full fleet of 577 gritting trucks can cover all 3,300 kilometers of national roads in about two hours. So far, they have spread over 8.76 million kilograms of salt this season, Rijkswaterstaat said. The fleet has driven over 139,000 kilometers since October 1.