Ascension Day causes busiest evening rush hour of the year

Where a nationwide public transit strike only resulted in somewhat busier-than-usual evening rush hour on Tuesday, the prospect of a long weekend caused the busiest evening rush hour of the year on Wednesday. According to travelers' association ANWB, at its peak there were over 1 thousand kilometers of traffic jams on Dutch roads on Wednesday evening, NU.nl reports.

Ascension day on Thursday means that many people in the Netherlands have a long weekend. And with warm, sunny weather expected, many are using it for a quick getaway. The roads towards the south - the lakes and coast in Friesland - were especially busy, according to ANWB. There was also more traffic than usual to the Veluwe, Arnhem and Nijmegen.

The long traffic jams were caused by traffic accidents, which resulted in lanes being closed for periods of time.

According to public works department Rijkswaterstaat, road users should expect heavier-than-usual traffic on the highways throughout the long weekend.