OOLTGEN PLATE
Today, 17:53 • 2 minutes reading time
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Motorists who were stuck in traffic jams at the Volkerakbrug in the A29 on Saturday afternoon have turned around en masse. While driving on the wrong side of the hard shoulder, they tried to get out of the traffic jam. That is “life-threatening and not the intention,” Rijkswaterstaat wrote on Twitter. The bridge was out of order between 15:30 and 18:45.
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Because the Volkerak bridge in the A29 on the border of South Holland and Brabant no longer closed completely, the barriers no longer opened. A traffic jam of 1 to 2 kilometers quickly developed in both directions to and from Rotterdam. Other traffic was diverted from the Hellegatsplein and Vaanplein junctions via Dordrecht.
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A large part of the motorists did not want to wait for the mechanic after more than an hour. Images that Rijkswaterstaat distributed via Twitter showed that cars drove back en masse over the hard shoulder to get out of traffic jams. The road manager then decided to ring the bell. “It is life-threatening and not the intention,” said the spokesman.
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Later escorted away
Motorists who were stuck in traffic informed Rijnmond via Facebook on Saturday evening that they had just been told by a road inspector that they had to turn and drive back on the hard shoulder. The spokesperson for Rijkswaterstaat confirms this, but emphasizes that this only happened after many motorists had already made the decision themselves to leave the traffic jam while driving through the emergency lane. “If traffic has to be diverted, it is safer if this is done under the supervision of, for example, the police or road inspectorate,” she warns.
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Finally, the A29 was reopened around 6:45 PM.
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