Is the Defense Line of Amsterdam worth 909 million euros? Or, that enormous extra cost of the A8-A9 motorway? | opinion
Who would want to put their head in this financial noose? The piece of A8 to the A9 that the province of Noord-Holland wants to build measures 5.5 kilometers. Converted, the highway therefore costs 165 million euros per kilometre. With the important disclaimer that large infrastructure projects have an irresistible tendency to be more expensive.
The new connection between the Zaanstreek and this should improve traffic around Amsterdam. A much better route to the metropolis is created from the IJmond and Kennemerland, and vice versa. Anyone who is regularly on the road in this area knows that a little more asphalt is not a superfluous luxury.
The A9 from Badhoevedorp to Haarlem and further to the North turned into a walking procession every afternoon during the week. The A7 and A8, the other routes from Amsterdam further into North Holland, are also silting up.
Press
And then the A8 suddenly stops, traffic consistently pushes through Krommenie-Assendelft every day to reach this region and the A9. That also makes this new access necessary. This stretch of road limits the inconvenience to Krommenie.
Add to that the predicted population growth, the Amsterdam flight to cheaper housing outside the city and the planned housing development in the IJmond and Kennemerland and you know: the A8-A9 is indispensable.
There are just some problems. The resistance to the big road was from the outset. At nature organizations; but also in Heemskerk and Beverwijk, because the connection to the A9 limits the enjoyment of living in the Broekpolder. In addition, the route crosses the World Heritage of a small part of the Defense Line of Amsterdam, resulting in collection bunkers and waterways that were in danger of losing status.
Traffic deputy Jeroen Olthof of the province of North Holland therefore presented an ultra all-inclusive package this week to address all those objections. That costs a bit, but then you also get something: an originally constructed road. No viaducts at Heemskerk. And the Defense Line of Amsterdam is even ‘better off’, promised Olthof.
Deputy of the week did not want to say how much more expensive the road has become. According to a calculation prepared in advance, it should be a quarter of a billion euros. In particular, the investment to save the Defense Line of Amsterdam is not working.
The IJmond municipalities of Velsen, Beverwijk and Heemskerk have decided, and the same will apply to Zaanstad, but with millions – proportionally – the province of North Holland is of course not there. It’s a tip, if you consider the total cost.
knock on door
Olthof will have to knock on the door of the Reich. And The Hague has to choose from more – – infrastructure projects.
But is the Defense Line of Amsterdam worth EUR 909 million? Or, that huge extra cost of the road? Are those concrete blocks and waterways really so special that we want to keep that Unesco label at all costs? It is not that they want to tear down the city center of Amsterdam – also a World Heritage Site – for a new road and metro network.
railway tunnel
Once, 435 million euros was spent on a seven-kilometer rail tunnel under a strip of grass – not even a very special part of the Green Heart. Are they going to make the same bizarre choice now?
The Defense Line of Amsterdam is 135 kilometers long and has 45 forts. The defense line is not suddenly broken when a bite goes out there. A lot of Stelling van Amsterdam is also without a World Heritage label. It seems non-existent that it may cost a quarter of a billion in public money – the real extra cost of the road.