Traffic congestion up 8% this year, more jams outside rush hour – DutchNews.nl

Traffic congestion in the Netherlands rose 8% last year, according to new figures from motoring organisation ANWB, based on information from TomTom satnav systems.

There was less congestion (length of jam x duration) in the first six months of the year, but in the second half “considerably more”, the ANWB said. Congestion was noticeably worse outside rush hours and there was a 45% increase in the number of weekend jams.

The worst traffic jam black spot was the A27 between Utrecht and Breda, followed by the A4 between The Hague Zuid and the Kethel tunnel, and the A2 heading to Kerkdriel from Den Bosch.

There were also more jams on provincial roads – particularly in Zuid-Holland where congestion rose 3%. Much of the regional traffic was down to diversions, the ANWB said.

Improvement work on the N206 near Leiden and A44 by Wassenaar led to a reduction in congestion, as did the opening of the southern stretch of the Groningen ring road in September.