Skip to main content

Netherlands' first free-flow toll road opens

A24/Blankenburg connection designed to relieve congestion around Rotterdam
By Adam Hill December 13, 2024 Read time: 1 min
Traffic on the A20 near Rotterdam (© Menno Van Der Haven | Dreamstime.com)

The first free-flow toll motorway has opened in the Netherlands.

The new A24/Blankenburg connection links the A15 at Rozenburg with the A20 at Vlaardingen near the port city of Rotterdam. 

Two tunnels, Hollandtunnel and Maasdeltatunnel, are expected to see 60,000 vehicles per day.

Several major ITS firms are involved: Emovis has designed and installed the system, and will maintain it; Via Verde is managing and collecting tolls, with A-to-Be providing its MoveBeyond back-office system; while Conduent runs the customer contact centre.

Electronic toll rates, for Dutch and foreign vehicles, are €1.51 per time for cars, vans and motorcycles (up to and including 3,500 kg) and electric vans (up to and including 4,250 kg). 

Trucks and other vehicles (above 3,500 kg) are charged €9.13 per trip. 

From 2026, these fees - used to recoup part of the cost of the new build - will be adjusted each year.

Jan Strijk, director of toll collection at Netherlands Vehicle Authority (RDW), says the tolls are expected to be in place for around 25 years, depending on traffic volumes.

Licence plates can be registered for automatic payment, with payment to be made within 72 hours of the journey. A payment reminder will follow from RDW - followed by a non-payment fine of €35 per trip per licence plate. 

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Inland waterways can de-stress city roads
    March 17, 2016
    David Crawford looks at an under-utilised solution for city-centre deliveries. The use of rivers and canals for moving freight is a well-established mode in North Western Europe, where it can take advantage of an intensively developed network. In the Netherlands, 40% of the total volume of goods transported internally goes by water; the figure for Flanders (the neighbouring Dutch-speaking region of Belgium) is 11.5%.
  • Investigating charging methods for open road tolling
    January 30, 2012
    Toll system suppliers are considering service structures and technologies needed to address issues of social exclusion in open road tolling. Jason Barnes asked Telvent's Pat McGowan to explain moves to address the needs of all toll customers
  • New system to prevent Hazchem and over-height vehicles entering tunnel
    August 20, 2015
    An impending move to free-flow charging prompted a search for automated dangerous goods identification and over-height detection systems at the Thames Crossing to the east of London. Manned toll booths are increasingly being consigned to history by the onslaught of all-electronic charging. However, a secondary function of the traditional manned plazas has been to prevent non-compliant vehicles using the facility or to tell a driver that that they need to use a specific lane or wait for an escort. Automating
  • Siemens SafeZone switched on in the Netherlands
    May 29, 2014
    An inter-urban version of Siemens’ SafeZone speed enforcement system has been deployed and switched on in the Netherlands this month to discourage motorists from exceeding 80 kph on two sections of the A13 motorway, the main arterial route between Rotterdam and The Hague. Modified for the Dutch market, the award-winning solution was designed, supplied and installed by Siemens for the Ministry of Justice, Netherlands and will be serviced for a period of eight years. Based on automatic number plate re