 | |
|---|---|
| Rijksweg 12 | |
 Location of the A12 motorway | |
| Major junctions | |
| West end | The Hague |
| East end | Lobith |
| Location | |
| Country | Kingdom of the Netherlands |
| Constituent country | Netherlands |
| Provinces | South Holland, Utrecht, Gelderland |
| Highway system | |
The A12 motorway is a motorway in the Netherlands. The road connects the city of The Hague with the German border, near Zevenaar, and the German Autobahn BAB 3. On its way, it crosses three Dutch provinces: South Holland, Utrecht, and Gelderland.
The A12 motorway runs along with parts of three major European routes:
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. 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), 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.
In 2008, a government programme on route branding, under an umbrella project in urban planning, put stickers on all streetlights of the A12, citing efforts to give it a "route 66-like" allure. This plan, dubbed the "regenboogroute" (rainbow route), received news coverage because of its alleged trivial results (stickers on streetlights) and high costs (€120 000). [1]
The Utrechtsebaan has been the location of numerous blockades by the climate group Extinction Rebellion. With daily blockades taking places since 9 September 2023. They block the road to demand the end of fossil subsidies. [2]
| Country | Province | Municipality | km | mi | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Netherlands | South Holland | The Hague | 1 | 0.62 | 1 |   N 44 northeast (Benoordenhoutseweg) / S 101 (Zuid Hollandlaan / Benoordenhoutseweg) – Wassenaar, Scheveningen | |
| 2 | 1.2 | 2 | Juliana van Stolberglaan / Prins Bernhardviaduct | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |||
| The Hague / Leidschendam-Voorburg municipality line | 3 | 1.9 | 3 | Schenkkade | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance only | ||
| Leidschendam-Voorburg | 5 | 3.1 | 4 |  S 108 southwest (Maanweg) / Prins Bernhardlaan – Rijswijk, Voorburg | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance only | ||
| The Hague | 6 | 3.7 | — |    E19 / E30 / A 4 | West end of E 30 overlap | ||
| 7 | 4.3 | 5 | Donau / Koning Willem-Alexanderviaduct | ||||
| Zoetermeer | 13 | 8.1 | 6 | Zuidweg / Afrikaweg | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance only | ||
| 16 | 9.9 | 7 |  N 470 | ||||
| Lansingerland | 18 | 11 | 8 |  N 209 | |||
| Zuidplas | 23 | 14 | 9 |  N 219 | |||
| Waddinxveen | 27 | 17 | — |   E25 / A 20 | West end of E 25 overlap; eastbound entrance and westbound exit only | ||
| 29 | 18 | 11 |  N 452 | ||||
| Bodegraven-Reeuwijk | 33 | 21 | 12 |  N 459 | |||
| 35 | 22 | 12a |  N 11 | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance only | |||
| 39 | 24 | 13 | Molendijk / Verlengde Tuurluur | ||||
| Utrecht | Woerden | 46 | 29 | 14 |  N 204 | ||
| 51 | 32 | 14a |  N 419 | ||||
| Utrecht | 54 | 34 | 15 |   N 198 / N 228 | |||
| 57 | 35 | — |   E25 / E35 / A 2 | East end of E 25 overlap; west end of E 35 overlap | |||
| 59 | 37 | 16 | Papendorpseweg | ||||
| Amsterdam–Rhine Canal | Galecopperbrug | ||||||
| Utrecht | Utrecht | 60 | 37 | 17 | Europalaan | ||
| 61 | 38 | 18 |  N 408 south (Laagravenseweg) / Waterlinieweg – Nieuwegein, Utrecht | ||||
| 62 | 39 | — |   E30 / E311 / A 27 | East end of E 30 overlap | |||
| Bunnik | De Forten rest area Eastbound exit and entrance only | ||||||
| Bunnik | 68 | 42 | 19 |  N 229 south (Schoudermantel) / Baan van Fectio – Bunnik, Odijk | |||
| Utrechtse Heuvelrug | 71 | 44 | 20 |  N 225 east (Hoofdstraat) – Driebergen, Zeist | |||
| 77 | 48 | 21 |  N 227 – Maarn, Doorn | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance only | |||
| 81 | 50 | 22 |  N 226 (Woudenbergseweg) – Maarsbergen, Woudenberg, Leersum | ||||
| Bloemheuvel rest area eastbound Oudenhorst rest area westbound | |||||||
| Renswoude / Veenendaal municipality line | 92 | 57 | 23 |  N 418 north (Nieuweweg-Noord) / Rondweg-West – Veenendaal | |||
| Utrecht / Gelderland province line | Veenendaal / Ede municipality line | 104 | 65 | 23a |  N 233 south (Rondweg-Oost) / Rondweg De Klomp – Veenendaal | ||
| Gelderland | Ede | 107 | 66 | — |  A 30 north – Ede | ||
| 109 | 68 | 24 |  N 781 south (Dr. W. Dreeslaan) – Ede, Bennekom | ||||
| Buunderkamp rest area eastbound 't Ginkelse Zand rest area westbound | |||||||
| 120 | 75 | 25 |  N 224 (Verlengde Arnhemseweg / Amsterdamseweg) – Ede, Arnhem | ||||
| Arnhem | 121 | 75 | — |  A 50 south – Heelsum | West end of A50 overlap | ||
| De Schaars rest area Westbound exit and entrance only | |||||||
| 128 | 80 | — | A 50 north (Delhuijzenweg) – Beekbergen | East end of A50 overlap | |||
| 129 | 80 | 26 |  N 784 (Apeldoornseweg) – Arnhem | ||||
| 134 | 83 | — |   A 348 east (IJsselweg) / N 325 west (IJsseloordweg) – Rheden, Arnhem | ||||
| IJssel | IJsselbrug | ||||||
| Gelderland | Duiven | 136 | 85 | 27 |  N 338 east (Rivierweg) – Lathum, Westervoort | ||
| 138 | 86 | 28 |  N 810 south (Noordsingel) – Duiven | ||||
| Oudbroeken rest area eastbound Aalburgen rest area westbound | |||||||
| Zevenaar | 143 | 89 | 29 |   N 813 east (Nieuwe Steeg / Tatelaarsweg) / N 336 (Doesburgseweg) – Didam, Zevenaar | |||
| 147 | 91 | — |  A 18 east – Didam | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance only | |||
| 149 | 93 | 30 |  N 812 (Beekseweg) – Babberich, Beek | ||||
| 2theloo rest area Northbound exit and entrance only | |||||||
| — |   E35 / A 3 east – Babberich, Elten | Border with Germany; this road continues as the German A 3; east end of E 35 overlap | |||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| |||||||
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The A12 blockade is a string of protests by Extinction Rebellion (XR) on the Utrechtsebaan in The Hague, irregularly since 6 July 2022 and daily since 9 September 2023. The activists demand that the government ends fossil fuel subsidies, which are estimated between €39.7 and €46.4 billion a year. Thousands of activists have been arrested. Political and social reactions to the blockades have been mixed.
