Commissioning King Willem Alexander Tunnel

First double layer tunnel of the Netherlands will open in the night of 15 to 16 December 2016.

Today it was announced that all four tunnel tubes of the King Willem Alexander tunnel will be put into operation on the night of 15 on 16 December 2016.

For Rijkswaterstaat (the Dutch Road Authorities) the tunnel is an important link in the national and European road network. Daily safety in the tunnel is not only determined by the functioning of all technical installations. The tunnel is also monitored and controlled 24/7 from the traffic control center in Helmond.

At present, there is still some work on new junctions, rest points of testing and exercises for traffic controllers and emergency services. Also the weather conditions must remain favorable to finish all work on-time. But with the current state of knowledge it is justified to head to a commissioning of the four tunnel tubes for the A2 Maastricht in the night of 15 on 16 December.

All ongoing traffic will disappear from the city to the lower tunnel tubes of the underground tunnel. The upper tunnel tubes will also be taken into operation, although some lanes cannot be used yet because the road infrastructure around the tunnel is not 100% finished. These lanes will follow gradually during the first half of 2017. Until then, local traffic will still be using the temporary N2 and detours.

After the first half of 2017, the vast majority will be connected on the total new traffic 6 km system. The tunnel itself is about 2 km long. Next to the tunnel also a total of 21 flyovers, viaducts, tunnels and bicycle viaducts are built to complete the whole new infrastructure.