The Dutch population has grown substantially over recent decades and has also become more prosperous. It has become increasingly urbanised and developments such as the construction of the VINEX locations and industrial areas has made the physical divide between living and working space more evident. All of this has meant that mobility has increased sharply, and put pressure on accessibility, since development of the infrastructure has lagged behind the growth in mobility.
Strukton Integrale Projecten considers the separation of traffic flows as one solution for the mobility problems. Separation of traffic flows is targeted at the needs of road users, a concept we refer to as "disentanglement". In our way of looking at it, disentangling can be done in two ways: separating through traffic from local traffic, or separating freight traffic from personal transport.
A good example of this is the Elevated Motorway. This is a private initiative comprising constructing a second road above an existing motorway. The Elevated Motorway can provide a solution in particular for queues that form near interchanges, by using the second road tier for personal transport through traffic. This allows separation of both the local traffic from the through traffic and of personal transport from freight transport - "double" disentanglement.
The Elevated Motorway has its own slip-roads for joining and leaving. There is only a single lane available in either direction. This means that overtaking is not possible, giving the road a calmer feel. A traffic monitoring system will adjust the speed limit for vehicles on the Elevated Motorway as a function of the amount of traffic, influence of the weather and environmental factors. As a result, the journey will be faster, safer and more relaxed.
Constructing a second deck above the existing motorway will increase the capacity and make the best possible use of the available space. This can be seen as a way of making use of the existing infrastructure.
It would also be possible to make the users of the Elevated Motorway pay for a queue-free route over longer distances. The “disentanglement" of traffic flows by means of the Elevated Motorway provides:
- freedom of choice for the user, i.e. to pay or not to pay;
- possibilities for a form of public-private partnership.
Our partners in the development of the Elevated Motorway are Imtech and the Stichting HogeSnelWeg (Elevated Motorway Foundation).