Over 73,000 visitors at Construction Day

Over 73,000 people visited construction sites normally closed to the public on Saturday on Construction Day, reports organizer Bouwend Nederland. The trade association wants to use the opening to increase understanding of the construction industry and show how diverse the sector is.

"On Saturday, 154 construction and infrastructure projects opened their construction gates for the 17th edition of the Day of Construction. This was enthusiastically received and over 73,000 Dutch people took advantage of this unique opportunity to take a look at construction sites that are only open to builders during the rest of the year," Bouwend Nederland writes. Visitors were welcomed at various construction and infra projects and given explanations about energy transition, new construction, maintenance and sustainability projects. "After all, the construction sector is engaged daily in an immense building task to keep our country accessible, safe and future-proof."

With 8000 visitors, the big crowd puller was the construction site of the new highway A16 Rotterdam. For the occasion, the Rottemerentunnel and the viaduct over the Terbregseplein were open. This year was the last time this project participated in Construction Day. In 2025, the 11 kilometer long new stretch of highway near Rotterdam should be completed.

On the beach in Velsen, young and old could see how offshore wind farms are connected. At the Binnenhof in The Hague, visitors were given a unique tour of the renovation of the Senate, the House of Representatives and the Council of State. In Twello, people could walk around a new energy-neutral fire station. In Kampen today was the opportunity to walk over the bottom of a future lock and in Nieuw-Bergen you could see how a dike is being reinforced! That was just a small sample of the fine offerings.

Net congestion solution

The opening of this year's Construction Day took place at the construction site in the Zuidplaspolder near Zevenhuizen. Here Croonwolter&dros - Mobilis is building a new high-voltage substation on behalf of TenneT and the regional grid operators Liander and Stedin, together with the companies VBH Infra and BVR Group. When the station and the connections are completed soon, this will greatly increase the transmission capacity of electricity in the region. It will also make room for more new construction in the region, such as Het Vijfde Dorp and the Dryport Zuidplas business park.

"This year we were proud to welcome tens of thousands of interested visitors to 154 different construction projects across the country. The great diversity of projects allowed them to get acquainted with the versatility and craftsmanship within our sector," stressed Arno Visser. "Together with builders, grid operators and relations, I opened the day this morning in the Zuidplaspolder near Zevenhuizen and got a unique look at how a new high-voltage substation is being built. I would like to thank all participating members and partners, because through their efforts this annual celebration of the construction and infrastructure sector was again a great success!"