The ministry of infrastructure and the Environment will be extending the busy motorways between Schiphol, Amsterdam and Almere over the coming years. This will ensure the region remains accessible. At the same time, the Ministery will be improving the quality of life along the motorways. The extension of the A9 Gaasperdammerweg and construction of a three-kilometre tunnel to reduce noise and air pollution will start in 2015.
Before the construction beings, all the cables and pipes for water, gas, electricity and telecoms in the area around the new tunnel need to be rerouted. This preparatory work began in February and will continue until the end of 2014. Visser & Smit Hanab has been commissioned by the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment to perform this work. We are drilling a number of tubes under the A9, in which the cables and pipes will be placed together. This way, fewer cables and pipes will have to be rerouted. On the south side of the A9, parallel to the Loosdrechtdreef and Langbroekdreef, we will be rerouting heating pipes.
Once the tunne has been completed, the A9 will no longer be nuisance to residents on the Gaasperdammerweg. This will be a major project and trees and shrubs will need to be removed. These will be replaced by new planting in the immediate area. The municipality of Amsterdam has also developed a plan, working with the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment and local residents, to make the area around the tunnel environmentally friendly. A park twice the size of Vondelpark will be created on the roof of the tunnel. 1,500 trees will be planted on and around the tunnel. The tunnel roof will be sown with grass and flowers and footpaths will be laid to allow people to walk across the tunnel park. The creation of the tunnel and the tunnel park will bring about a cleaner environment and reduced noise nuisance for local residents around the A9