A12 partially closed for nine days starting Monday for maintenance work

Drivers on the A12 will have to circumvent their trip for the upcoming nine days as maintenance work is carried out between the Oudenrijn junction near Utrecht and Nieuwerbrug. The maintenance is expected to last from Monday 9 p.m. to Thursday at 5 a.m.

Between Nieuwerbrug and Reeuwijk there will also be construction work but the roads will remain partially open. Drivers should account for an extra travel time of up to one hour due to detours.

New message signs and detection loops will be installed where necessary and repairs will be carried on the viaducts, defective lights will be replaced and the grass will be mowed. Between Woerden and Reeuwijk, broken asphalt will be replaced by the noise-reducing concrete Zoab.

The Rijkswaterstaat anticipated long traffic jams due to the nine-day construction work, but concluded that it was the best option, “With a total closure of multiple days in a row, we are able to get more work and make the inconvenience for drivers the shortest. We can also guarantee the safety for road users and road workers better than with short-term shutdowns.”

For traffic from Utrecht to The Hague there will be a detour via the A2, A4 and A9. Travelers on their way to Rotterdam can drive via the A2, A15 and A27.

The detours offer little solace for truck drivers, a spokesperson for Transport and Logistics Netherlands (TLN) said. Truck drivers will have to divert their normal route by many extra kilometers. The TLN also wondered if there has been sufficient communication about the closure to drivers outside of the Netherlands in Germany and Poland who frequently use the A12.

Truck drivers many be eligible for compensation due to the extended traveling time, but the arrangement may take a long time and is complicated.

The Rijkswaterstaat said they will not postpone the closure because it will only lead to a longer maintenance time.