Long A16 jam from Breda towards Dordrecht as two bridges stay restricted
A long jam built up on the A16 on Tuesday morning, while the Papendrechtsebrug is shut to all traffic until May and lorries remain banned from the Merwedebrug.
A long traffic jam formed on the A16 from Breda towards Dordrecht on Tuesday morning. It comes while two bridges in the area are restricted: the Papendrechtsebrug between Dordrecht and Papendrecht and the Merwedebrug between Gorinchem and Werkendam.
The Papendrechtsebrug is closed to all traffic until May next year. People who need to cross the water can use the free ferries or the Waterbus between Dordrecht and Papendrecht. Cars are not allowed on them; bicycles and scooters are.
The Merwedebrug has been closed to freight traffic since July, because the steel proved weaker than expected in several places. The bridge recently got a new, thinner asphalt layer. Rijkswaterstaat, the national roads agency, says this makes the bridge about 400 tonnes lighter.
The truck ban on the Merwedebrug stays in force even after the road surface has been replaced.
Rijkswaterstaat
Rijkswaterstaat is the executive agency of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, often called the national roads agency in English. It manages the national motorways, bridges and tunnels, and the main waterways of the Netherlands. In this article it is the body that assessed the Merwedebrug and set its new weight limits, so it is the authority behind decisions about which bridges can carry heavy freight.