‘Largest traffic operation ever’
Almost all roads, highways, on- and off-ramps, viaducts and tunnels that were closed in connection with the NATO summit are now open again. This is reported by Rijkswaterstaat (the Dutch Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management) on Thursday morning. The N44 is still closed, as are a number of local roads.
Among other things, the A5, the A44 and the N44 were partially or completely closed due to the transport of the delegations that participated in the summit. Earlier, the expectation was that most closures would not be lifted until Friday. Because the delegations left earlier than expected, the roads could be opened earlier.
Rijkswaterstaat speaks of ‘the largest traffic operation that the Netherlands has ever carried out’. The organization made a traffic plan, with a role for, among other things, 8,500 cones, 4,450 traffic signs, 232 DRIPs (displays) and 135 text and action vehicles. Every day, twenty extra road inspectors drove around to be able to intervene in incidents.
Serious traffic jams did not occur, says Rijkswaterstaat. In the south of Amsterdam it was very busy at times due to the escorted transport of the delegations, but nationally the peak moments were relatively quiet. Rijkswaterstaat made the call to work from home as much as possible prior to the summit.