The A1 in the direction of Amsterdam reopened on Monday morning at 5am, ending a closure that lasted the whole summer. The stretch between the Eemnes and Muiderberg junctions had been shut since early July for major maintenance.
Rijkswaterstaat laid the final asphalt and painted the last road markings in the days before reopening, and also repaired crash barriers along the route. “We are on schedule and working on the finishing touches,” project spokesman Remco de Korte said before the road opened.
“We are glad we finished within the stated deadline.”
Why It All Opened At Once
Rijkswaterstaat deliberately chose to open the entire stretch in one go rather than releasing sections through the summer.
De Korte said that is both safer and better for the surrounding towns. Opening only part of the road, he explained, would have funnelled traffic off the motorway and straight through village centres.
The Detours Caused Real Disruption
The closure pushed drivers onto local roads for six weeks. Rat running appeared in Hilversum, Bussum and Naarden, and the Eemnes junction became a bottleneck as drivers worked out their new routes.
“The situation on the road was busy at the start, but manageable,” De Korte said. “With projects of this size you see that residents and road users first have to get used to it.
In the end we see it normalising.”
For anyone commuting east out of Amsterdam, or driving toward Amersfoort and the German border, the usual route is available again from this week.
