The IJtunnel, opened on 30 October 1968, is an automobile

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

under the IJ that connects the centre of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

with

Amsterdam-Noord Amsterdam-Noord (; ) is a borough of Amsterdam, Netherlands with a population of about 90,000. The IJ, the body of water which separates it from Amsterdam-Centrum and the rest of the city, is situated southwest of Amsterdam-Noord. The borough, whi ...

. The tunnel is part of a route across Amsterdam that connects the Ringweg North with the Ringweg South near

Duivendrecht Duivendrecht () is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Ouder-Amstel, and lies about 6 km southeast of Amsterdam’s city centre. In fact, it is surrounded by Amsterdam. History The village w ...

, via Nieuwe Leeuwarderweg, Valkenburgerstraat, Weesperstraat, Wibautstraat and Gooiseweg (S112). The total length of the tunnel, including on- and off-ramps, is 1682 metres. The covered part is 1039 metres long. The deepest point of the tunnel lies 20.32 metres below sea-level. The tunnel was built of sections of rectangular

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

constructions of 24.8 x 8.75 metres, subdivided into two tubes for

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...

and in between tubes for cables and pipes. Ventilators, located in two

ventilation Ventilation may refer to: * Ventilation (physiology), the movement of air between the environment and the lungs via inhalation and exhalation ** Mechanical ventilation, in medicine, using artificial methods to assist breathing *** Ventilator, a m ...

buildings on the banks of the IJ, blow clean air into the traffic areas via tubes under the surface of the road and openings in the tunnel walls, and suck polluted air out. At the entrance on the north side there are sun-blocking lattices over the road. These lattices are missing on the south side, where the Nemobuilding is built on top of the tunnel. The traffic in the tunnel is monitored by 22 closed-circuit cameras. A

heating A central heating system provides warmth to a number of spaces within a building from one main source of heat. It is a component of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (short: HVAC) systems, which can both cool and warm interior spaces. ...

system prevents the forming of

ice Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaq ...

on the surface of the road, and a

computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...

regulates the intensity of light at the beginning and the end of the tunnel, so that a gradual transition from tunnel light to

daylight Daylight is the combination of all direct and indirect sunlight during the daytime. This includes direct sunlight, diffuse sky radiation, and (often) both of these reflected by Earth and terrestrial objects, like landforms and buildings. Sunligh ...

takes place. The route through the IJtunnel is an urban avenue, formed out of two divided tunnels, each with two

lanes In road transport, a lane is part of a roadway that is designated to be used by a single line of vehicles to control and guide drivers and reduce traffic conflicts. Most public roads (highways) have at least two lanes, one for traffic in each ...

of traffic. This four-lane road continues to the A10 in the north and to the

Prins Hendrikkade Prins Hendrikkade (Dutch language, Dutch for "Prince Henry's Quay") is a major street in the centre of Amsterdam. It passes Amsterdam Centraal station, Amsterdam Central Station, intersects the Damrak at the mouth of the Amstel river, and forms th ...

in the south, where it is reduced to two lanes, one in each direction.

Access restrictions

The IJtunnel is a class D tunnel under the ADR treaty. The classification means that no one may use the tunnel to transport dangerous goods that may cause a large explosion, or a large toxic release, or a large fire. The tunnel is also an entry point to Amsterdam's

low emission zone A low-emission zone (LEZ) is a defined area where access by some polluting vehicles is restricted or deterred with the aim of improving air quality. This may favour vehicles such as bicycles, micromobility vehicles, (certain) alternative fuel veh ...

, and there is a height limit of 4 meters. Pedestrians, agricultural vehicles, bicycles and mopeds are generally not allowed to use the IJtunnel. However, the ban on pedestrians, bicycles and mopeds may be temporarily lifted if public transport and ferry services across the IJ are suspended: such a situation occurred in 1993, 1997, 2005 and 28 May 2019. There was also a special open day on 26 October 1968, to mark the opening of the tunnel.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ijtunnel Tunnels completed in 1968 Road tunnels in the Netherlands Immersed tube tunnels in the Netherlands Tunnels in Amsterdam