12 February 2009 | press release Rijkswaterstaat
Rijkswaterstaat compensates this measure by planting new trees along the projected route later on. The actual construction of the Second Coentunnel starts in May 2009. The tunnel will be put into use for traffic in 2012.
Bottle-neck
The current Coentunnel has been a huge bottle-neck for the motor traffic in the Northern part of the Dutch "Randstad" (Area comprising Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam, The Hague) for years. This bottle-neck causes extra heavy traffic on the connecting motorways, the A8 and the A10.
This heavy traffic has a negative effect on the direct living environment and the accessibility of the Amsterdam harbour area, Westpoort. This is why it has been decided to construct a second tunnel next to the existing Coentunnel. The planning procedure was concluded with a positive ruling of the Council of State in December 2008.
Start of activities
The construction of the tunnel will start in May 2009 with the construction of the embankment on both sides of the A10. These sand bodies are required for the temporary diversions and are required to enable the construction of the access ramps to the Second Coentunnel in due time.
In preparation of these activities it is necessary to reroute the cables, conduits and pipes first. Additionally, on basis of a felling permit issued by the municipality of Amsterdam, shrubs and trees are removed to make room for the embankments. This is done in close consultation with the municipality of Amsterdam and the city ecologist. Rijkswaterstaat compensates this measure by planting new trees along the A10 at a later stage. Furthermore, the Projected Route Decision contains a forest compensation of over 6.5 hectares.
Location
The Second Coentunnel is constructed at approximately 25 meters east of the existing Coentunnel. For the part under the North Sea Canal, four tunnel elements of 165 meters will be used. In 2010 these concrete tunnel elements will be immersed and will consequently be connected to the Amsterdam ring road (A10). A large part of the tunnel traffic in the north-south direction will be diverted from the A10-West via the Westrandweg that is yet to be constructed. For the Westrandweg , a procedure is in progress for a Projected Route decision. The Council of State is expected to rule on this matter later this year.
The ambition is to take the Second Coentunnel in use - in connection with the Westrandweg- in 2012. The project is followed up by the renovation of the existing Coentunnel.
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