Landtunnel Utrecht at Leidsche Rijn: The conceptualisation of the Dutch multifunctional tunnel

Abstract

The Landtunnel Utrecht at Leidsche Rijn has become a milestone in Dutch tunnelling because it signifies a remarkable leap forwards in the conceptualisation, awareness and insight into the use of underground space technology and tunnelling for environmental purposes. At the beginning of the 21st century, all motorway tunnels in the Netherlands (with the exception of the Schiphol road tunnel) were subsurface constructions that were built to pass waterways. The Landtunnel Utrecht at Leidsche Rijn is the first aboveground motorway tunnel built to minimise the environmental impact of the road, and it allows development of the largest residential area in the Netherlands: Leidsche Rijn, Utrecht. Implementing the project highlights the difficulties decision makers face when they have to balance safety issues, high costs, multiple environmental issues, complex financing and urban development objectives. With no effective regulation in place and no similar practice to fall back on, the Landtunnel Utrecht (together with Sijtwende and the Green Link A15) breaks ground to allow the use of motorway tunnels for a new and promising application: environmental and spatial integration of motorways in urban areas.