The A12 motorway is a

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 ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. The road connects the city of

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

with the German border, near Zevenaar, and the German

Autobahn The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. Much of t ...

BAB 3. On its way, it crosses three Dutch

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

South Holland South Holland ( ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. ...

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

, and

Gelderland Gelderland ( , ), also known as Guelders ( ) in English, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands, located in the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Nethe ...

European routes

The A12 motorway runs along with parts of three major

European route The international E-road network is a numbering system for roads in Europe developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The network is numbered from E1 up and its roads cross national borders. It also reaches Central ...

s: * The

European route E30 European route E30 is an A-Class European route from the port of Cork (city), Cork in Republic of Ireland, Ireland in the west to the Russian city of Omsk, near the border with Kazakhstan in the east. For much of the Russian stretch, it follow ...

follows the A12 between interchange Prins Clausplein near The Hague, and interchange Lunetten, just southeast of the city of

. * The European route E25 runs along the A12 between interchange Gouwe near Gouda, and interchange Oudenrijn, just southwest of Utrecht. * The European route E35 follows the route of the A12 from interchange Oudenrijn towards the German border.

The A12 near The Hague

The section of the A12 road within the city of The Hague (near exits 1, 2 and 3) is actually not a motorway, but a

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

. This part of the road, known as the ''Utrechtsebaan'', is too narrow to meet the Dutch requirements for a motorway (for example, it does not have a

shoulder The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone) as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder m ...

), and is therefore a highway with a maximum speed of 70 km/h. To block local traffic from using this heavily congested part of the road, exits 2 through 4 are built as incomplete exits. These exits only feature westbound exits and eastbound entrances, so they can only be used by interlocal traffic. Local traffic is therefore forced to make use of the available local roads.

'Branding' controversy

In 2008, a government programme on route branding, under an umbrella project in

urban planning Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...

, put stickers on all streetlights of the A12, citing efforts to give it a " route 66-like" allure. This plan, dubbed the "" (''rainbow route''), received news coverage because of its alleged trivial results (stickers on streetlights) and high costs (€120 000).

A12 blockade

The Utrechtsebaan has been the location of numerous blockades by the climate group

Extinction Rebellion Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) is a UK-founded global environmental movement, with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and ...

. With daily blockades taking places since 9 September 2023. They block the road to demand the end of fossil subsidies.

Exit list

References

{{Motorways in the Netherlands Constituent roads of European route E30 Motorways in the Netherlands Motorways in Gelderland Motorways in South Holland Motorways in Utrecht (province) Transport in The Hague Transport in Utrecht (city)