A18 motorway (Netherlands)

A15 motorway
Rijksweg 15
Location of the A15 and A18 motorways
Location
Provinces:	South Holland, Gelderland
Highway system
Roads in the Netherlands Motorways E-roads Provincial City routes

The Dutch A15 motorway (Rijksweg 15) is a set of two motorways in the Netherlands, the A15 and the A18.

In governmental plans, the A15 and A18 together were meant to be one long motorway from the Europoort harbor near Rotterdam towards the town of Varsseveld in the east of the country. However, the section of this road between the interchange Ressen and Arnhem has never been constructed. To avoid confusion for drivers, the eastern part of the road has been given a different number: 18.

The westernmost part of the road, between the Maasvlakte and exit 8 is officially not an Autosnelweg (motorway), and is therefore called N15. However, it has most characteristics of a motorway, such as a central barrier and a hard shoulder until it crosses the Coloradoweg on the Maasvlakte. As of exit 8, the road becomes an official motorway, called A15. Together with the Betuweroute, which runs parallel on several stretches, the A15 is a main transport corridor from the Port of Rotterdam to the east.

In 2010, the A15 motorway near Rotterdam has been widened between the exit Brielle and the interchange Vaanplein. To the western part, between Brielle and Spijkenisse, one lane in each direction will be added, making it a 2x3 road. As for the eastern part of the section, between Spijkenisse and the Vaanplein, the current 2x3 road has been upgraded to a 2x5 road. The complex project in this highly industrialized part of Rotterdam caused an extensive loss of € 103,0 million to one of the main contractors of the project, Ballast Nedam, over the year 2014.

The A18 motorway is a short motorway, with only 5 exits and 20 kilometers. The western terminus, interchange Oud-Dijk, can only be used by traffic to and from the western part of the A12. Traffic to/from the A12 east of this interchange (most likely from the German BAB 3 road) will have to use local roads to get from the A18 to the A12 or vice versa.