Major work on A7 bridge starts; Partial highway closures at Purmerend for five months

The planned work on the A7 bridge over the Noordhollandsch Kanaal near Purmerened will start on Monday, resulting in partial highway closures for five months. The closures already started overnight as Rijkswatestaat prepares for the work.

The bridge needs to be strengthened so that heavy traffic can cross it again. During the strengthening work, which Rijkswaterstaat hopes will be finished by September 1, only one half of the bridge will be open.

On Thursday night, the public works department started “setting up the new traffic situation and the work area.” To give the construction company space to carry out the work from Monday, Rijkswaterstaat will close the entrances and exits around the bridge one by one over the coming nights.

Overnight, only one lane was available on the A7 toward Hoorn. The road in that direction will close around the bridge on Friday night. The A7 toward Zaandam will be partially closed on Saturday and Sunday nights.

From Monday, all traffic in both directions will drive over one half of the bridge in four narrowed lanes. The halves will change in June.

Road users can expect considerable traffic disruptions for the next five months. Rijkswaterstaat urged everyone in the area to work from home as much as possible between April and September. It also suggested carpooling and using public transport.

NS already said that it wouldn’t consistently run longer trains during the road works. The Dutch rail company believes that the trains it is already operating around Purmerend have enough space for all passengers who choose to travel by train rather than driving.

The rail company plans to run extra trains during rush hour, if necessary, and to monitor the situation closely.