The Dutch A15 motorway (Rijksweg 15) is a set of two

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

s in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, the A15 and the A18.

Connection between A15 and A18

In governmental plans, the A15 and A18 together were meant to be one long motorway from the

Europoort Europoort (, en, Eurogate, also "Europort") is an area of the Port of Rotterdam and the adjoining industrial area in the Netherlands. Being situated at Southside of the mouth of the rivers Rhine and Meuse with the hinterland consisting of the ...

harbor near

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

towards the town of

Varsseveld Varsseveld is a town in the Netherlands, located in the Dutch municipality of Oude IJsselstreek. History Middle Ages At the start of the twelfth century, Varsseveld was part of the County of Lohn, a county within the Holy Roman Empire with its s ...

in the east of the country. However, the section between the interchange Ressen and

Zevenaar Zevenaar () is a municipality and a city in the Gelderland province, in the eastern Netherlands near the border with Germany. Population centres * Angerlo * Babberich * Giesbeek * Lathum *Ooy * Oud-Zevenaar *Zevenaar History The earliest signs ...

was not completed. To avoid confusion for drivers, the eastern part of the road has been given a different number: A18. In 2018, the Dutch government announced plans to extend the A15 by from the A325 south of

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both ban ...

to the A12 northwest of Zevenaar as a toll motorway, which will provide a connection onward to the A18; the A12 will also be widened from

Westervoort Westervoort () is a municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands. The town has two rivers inside its borders, the Rhine and the IJssel. It is a commuter town closely linked to Arnhem, the capital of Gelderland, which is situated on the west b ...

to the Oud-Dijk interchange with the A18, and a new Zevenaar-East exit will be built to replace the existing Zevenaar exit. Construction of the extension began in 2019 and is planned for completion between 2021 and 2023. It is unclear whether the A18 route will be renumbered as the A15 once the connection to the A12 is made.

Section A15 (and N15)

The westernmost part of the road, between the Maasvlakte and exit 8 is officially not an ''Autosnelweg'' (motorway), and is therefore known as the N15. However, it has most characteristics of a motorway, such as a central barrier and a hard shoulder until it crosses the Coloradoweg on the Maasvlakte. As of exit 8, the road becomes an official motorway, called A15. Together with the

Betuweroute The Betuweroute is a double track freight railway between Rotterdam and Germany. is the official name, after the Betuwe area through which the route passes. The line is popularly called Betuwelijn, after an older track in the same region. Th ...

, which runs parallel on several stretches, the A15 is a main transport corridor from the

Port of Rotterdam The Port of Rotterdam is the largest seaport in Europe, and the world's largest seaport outside of East Asia, located in and near the city of Rotterdam, in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. From 1962 until 2004, it was the worl ...

to the east.

Reconstruction works

In 2010, the A15 motorway near Rotterdam has been widened between the exit

Brielle Brielle (), also called Den Briel in Dutch and Brill in English, is a town, municipality and historic seaport in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, on the north side of the island of Voorne-Putten, at the mouth of the New ...

and the interchange Vaanplein. To the western part, between

and Spijkenisse, one lane in each direction will be added, making it a 2x3 road. As for the eastern part of the section, between Spijkenisse and the Vaanplein, the current 2x3 road has been upgraded to a 2x5 road. The complex project in this highly industrialized part of Rotterdam caused an extensive loss of €103 million to one of the main contractors of the project, Ballast Nedam, in the year 2014.

Section A18 (and N18)

The A18 motorway is a short motorway, with only 5 exits and 20 kilometers. The western terminus, interchange Oud-Dijk, can only be used by traffic to and from the western part of the A12. Traffic to/from the A12 east of this interchange (most likely from the German BAB 3 road) will have to use local roads to get from the A18 to the A12 or vice versa. After its eastern terminus near Varsseveld, road number 18 continues as a regional non-motorway road, therefore being called N18. This road passes the towns Harreveld,

Lichtenvoorde Lichtenvoorde is a town in the east of the Netherlands, in the municipality of Oost Gelre. Lichtenvoorde holds a flower parade (''bloemencorso'') every September at the start of its annual festival. The parade features floats covered in flowers ...

Groenlo Groenlo () is a city in the municipality of Oost Gelre, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, on the German border, within a region in the province of Gelderland called the Achterhoek (literally: "back corner"). Groenlo was a municipalit ...

, and

Eibergen Eibergen ( Low Saxon: ''Eibarge'') is a town and former municipality in Gelderland in the Eastern Netherlands. It is part of the Achterhoek cultural region. The administrative cooperation of about 20 municipalities in this region is the Regio Acht ...

on its way to the city Enschede.

Exit list

References

{{Motorways in the Netherlands Motorways in the Netherlands Motorways in Gelderland Motorways in South Holland Motorways in Utrecht (province)