ROTTERDAM, 5 March 2026 – Rotterdam says the number of Maastunnel closures caused by overheight lorries has fallen by 75% since the city lowered the maximum clearance from 4.0 to 3.9 metres a year ago. According to the municipality, that means the tunnel now has to be shut almost 40 fewer times per week.
That is a meaningful shift for one of the city’s most sensitive traffic pinch points. If you use the Maastunnel regularly, you have probably felt the old pattern before: sudden red lights, barriers down, and traffic backing up because one lorry was too tall to continue.
Why the Maastunnel kept closing
Before the change came into force on 4 March 2025, Rotterdam says there were as many as 50 reports a week involving overheight lorries attempting to enter the tunnel.
When that happened, traffic lights switched to red, barriers came down, and the tunnel was closed in both directions so the vehicle could turn around. The city says that manoeuvre took around four minutes on average, but the knock-on effect was much bigger, with congestion around the tunnel, delays to bus 44, and nuisance for nearby residents.
What Rotterdam changed in 2025
The lower clearance limit was introduced together with a wider package of measures. Rotterdam says it replaced 150 traffic signs, ran a communication campaign aimed at drivers and transport companies, and updated both road signage and route planners.
The practical result is that lorries higher than 3.9 metres are now directed via alternative routes, instead of discovering the restriction too late at the tunnel entrance.
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Why the city calls the measure a success
Rotterdam’s original target was to reduce tunnel closures by 80%. The city says that reaching 75% after one year shows the measure is working, even if it has not fully hit the original goal.
Alderman Pascal Lansink-Bastemeijer, whose portfolio includes mobility, says there is no reason to tighten the height limit further. “It is simply working very well. Transport companies and their drivers are adapting neatly to the new rules and are increasingly following the alternative routes. Traffic flow has improved significantly and that saves a lot of delay and frustration. That is a clear gain for car traffic, public transport, emergency services and residents in the wider area.”
What happened on the alternative routes
One obvious question is whether the problem has simply been moved elsewhere. Rotterdam says the diverted freight traffic is now using routes such as the Erasmusbrug and the Koninginnebrug, but that the increase in lorries on those roads has not led to extra delays or noticeable nuisance.
The municipality says it analysed a full year of traffic data before drawing conclusions, taking into account factors such as weather and roadworks, both of which can change traffic patterns.
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What this means for Rotterdam drivers
For drivers, public transport users and people living near the tunnel approaches, this is one of those unglamorous fixes that matters precisely because it is so practical. It does not change the city overnight, but it removes a recurring source of irritation that had become oddly normal. And in Rotterdam traffic terms, “almost 40 fewer shutdowns a week” is not a small improvement. That is the kind of figure you can actually feel in the flow of the day.
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