No trains, buses, trams and metros will run during the morning rush hour on Wednesday

Will Dutch road users have to pay tolls in more places in the long term? At the moment this is only required at the Blankenburg connection and the Kiltunnel, and soon on the ViA15. Meanwhile, the National Ombudsman issued a statement on Tuesday criticism on the unclear way in which tolls are charged at the Blankenburg connection.

Will there be a kilometer charge after all, or payment according to use – which the VVD managed to get from the coalition agreement, although D66 and CDA initially agreed?

The House of Representatives asked many such questions on Tuesday afternoon and evening during a committee debate with Minister Vincent Karremans (Infrastructure and Water Management, VVD) and State Secretary Annet Bertram (I&W, CDA) about the state of infrastructure in the Netherlands.

Will the government persuade pension funds to invest in Dutch infrastructure? Or borrow money on the capital market? Because no one borrows at such low interest rates as the Dutch state.

Will the EU come forward with European subsidies for Dutch roads, rail and waterways? Or will the funds released for defense also be used for maintenance, renovation and new construction of infrastructure?

The ‘cake’

But answers… Both ministers hardly had any. Karremans and Bertram did not yet want to say how the cabinet could structurally arrange more budget for the squeaking and creaking infrastructure. Possible alternative forms of financing will only be available at the end of this year, after new research by the ministry.

There was great disappointment about this among the MPs of the standing committee for Infrastructure and Water Management. They would have liked to hear from the minister and the state secretary how ‘the cake’, as it was mentioned several times, for infrastructure in the Netherlands could be increased.

Until 2038, approximately 200 billion euros is available for this purpose in the Mobility Fund and the Delta Fund. But that is approximately 80 billion too little, experts calculate, to maintain, renew and build all the necessary infrastructure. Many roads, bridges, locks, viaducts and flood defenses were constructed in the 1950s and 1960s (sometimes with Marshall aid after the Second World War). They are now ‘end of life’.

Karremans and Bertram actually only wanted to talk about the letter they sent to the House on Friday. This contains the so-called ‘assessment framework’ for infrastructure projects. This framework by Karremans and Bertram does not determine which infrastructure projects will go ahead, but sets the yardstick against which they will all be assessed. The reason is the deficit of more than 80 billion euros: everything is not possible at the same time.

The gist: maintenance of existing infrastructure takes precedence over new construction, with lifespan extension where possible and replacement only where really necessary. Safety carries the most weight. Almost every government project – highway, bridge, lock, railway or flood defense – must “apply for its own function”; only agreed obligations, such as the work on the Van Brienenoord Bridge, are fixed.

The ministers emphasized in the letter that the substantive assessment is decisive and not the strongest lobby. The framework has not yet been finalized: the rules will follow after Tuesday’s parliamentary debate, and the project list will only follow after the summer. In addition, the government wants to scrap unnecessary, cost-increasing rules and explore alternative financing.

Critics from local and provincial government and transport and logistics warn that around 75 innovation projects are being left behind and that the approach focuses too much on the short term. Large projects, such as the pumping station at IJmuiden for example, would also require so much budget that there would be little room left for other projects, especially the railway.

Supersonic missile

Karremans and Bertram refused to anticipate specific projects. Even though the MPs mentioned various projects on Tuesday: from the large housing projects in Alkmaar, Apeldoorn, Helmond and Enschede/Hengelo – where houses are being built that will be difficult or impossible to reach because there is no money for infrastructure – to the many N-roads in Eastern Netherlands where central reservation separation has been requested for years for reasons of road safety.

Another specific wish: an extra exit from the A28 near Staphorst to provide access to the new Defense ammunition depot that should be located there. That money, said MP Pieter Grinwis (CU), should come from Defense. “One less supersonic missile and we have financed that exit.”

Meanwhile, news on Tuesday proved how urgent the problems on Dutch motorways are. Rijkswaterstaat reported in the afternoon that the JF Kennedy viaduct at the A16 Rotterdam Feijenoord exit (number 24) is in poor condition. This is partly due to ‘hydrogen embrittlement’: cracks in the steel. Heavy traffic is no longer allowed over the viaduct (trucks must take a detour). Traffic from the south is directed into only one lane. And the maximum speed goes to 70 km/h.

It is not yet known when the viaduct can be renovated, according to Rijkswaterstaat. “The renewal will not be possible in the short term, but is expected to take several years.” Every day you can name a new symbol of the worrying state of infrastructure in the Netherlands.

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