The Netherlands has several dozen road tunnels. The oldest tunnel is the Maas Tunnel under the Nieuwe Maas in Rotterdam. This tunnel was opened in 1942, during the Second World War.
At around one kilometre, the Maas Tunnel is by no means the longest road tunnel in the Netherlands. The following is the top five longest road tunnels in our country, including two tunnels in ‘our’ Limburg.
Westerscheldt Tunnel – 7 km
The Western Scheldt Tunnel is approximately 7 km long and has two lanes in each direction. The tunnel runs under the Western Scheldt and connects Zuid-Beveland with Terneuzen, in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, the southernmost part of the province of Zeeland. The tunnel opened in 2003 and a toll is payable.
2. Gaasperdammertunnel – 3 km
At an appropriate distance follows the 3 km long Gaasperdammertunnel in Amsterdam, part of the A9, which is currently under construction and due to be completed in 2020. When finished, it will be the longest land tunnel in the Netherlands.
3. RijnlandRoute tunnel – 2.5 km
Also under construction is the tunnel for the RijnlandRoute, part of the new road for Katwijk to Leiden. This is a so-called bored tunnel, with completion scheduled for 2022.
4. King Willem-Alexander Tunnel – 2.3 km
The King Willem-Alexander Tunnel is a two-layer, stacked tunnel. One for local traffic (N2) and one for through traffic (A2). This makes the tunnel unique in Europe. The construction costs amounted to a staggering €850 million, making it also the most expensive tunnel in our country. Until the completion of the Gaasperdam Tunnel, this will remain the country's longest land tunnel.
5. Roertunnel – 2 km
The top five is rounded off by the 2km-long Roertunnel, which, until the opening of the Koning Willem-Alexander Tunnel, was the longest land tunnel in the country. This tunnel has been closed on several occasions for safety reasons, which led to major traffic jams.
For some people, driving through a tunnel is their worst nightmare. They suffer from what is known as tunnel phobia, or tunnel anxiety. Do you suffer from this too?
