Construction work on a railroad-viaduct over the freeway 12 right-of-way near Nootdorp. During construction works the interurban trains of the socalled “Hofplein”-railroad had an at-grade crossing with the State Railroad. Photo 1933, most likely taken by railroad-photographer J.J.B. Vellekoop.

Aerial view of the situation after completion of freeway 12 in 1938. You can see the viaduct as well as the abandoned right-of-way beneath the Hofplein-railroad. A local community road has been split in two because of the freeway construction. As you can see the freeway has hard shoulders – The Netherlands were the first country in Europe to make this a standard freeway design component.

Nootdorp intersection in 1937

This is a diamond-intersection, in Holland called an “Haarlemmermeer”-intersection, as had been used on all the intersections of freeway 4 Amsterdam-Leiden in the Haarlemmermeer-polder.

Zevenhuizen-intersection, probably in 1938. This half cloverleaf intersection resembles the german standard intersection. In the Netherlands half cloverleafs were only used in the thirties when a canal would make costs for a diamond-intersection too high.

Gouwe interchange and Gouda intersection in 1938

Gouda intersection was an half cloverleaf because of the Gouwe-river. The motorway to the south (downwards on the picture) is freeway 3 (nowadays the A20).

Laagraven interchange (rw12/rw22) near Utrecht in 1955, in the same situation as after completion in 1942. It could have been completed earlier, but the second world war had prevented it because of a shortage in concrete and iron. Still it was the first two-level interchange between freeways in the Netherlands.

The sharp turn traffic had to make from leftunder to leftabove  gave the interchange it’s nickname “Angelsturn” because you really needed a guardian angel not ending in the shoulder.

Today you’ll find here A12 intersection 18 with the municipal Waterlinieweg (former rw22).

Freeway 3 near Nieuwerkerk a/d IJssel in 1933; still a single carriageway. Later this part would became a double-carriageway. Around 1990 this part of the A20 was replaced bij a new road, and this part became a (municipal) single-carriageway again (Europalaan).

Freeway 4 near Badhoevedorp in 1937. The photo shows the brand-new road looking form Amsterdam to the south. In front is the bridge over the Haarlemmermeer-ringcanal; further away the intersection with the Schipholweg is visible. This situation has dramatically changed since 1967 and will be very difficult to be recognized on a recent picture.

Freeway 4 (now A44) near Voorhout-intersection under construction, June 14, 1938. This will be the southern terminus for the freeway Amsterdam-Leiden for two-and-a-half decades.

Freeway 16 near Dordrecht in 1939. The road is already a double-carriageway near Dordrecht-intersection. Completion of the second carriageway between Dordrecht and Rotterdam would be established in 1943, doubling of the number of lanes south of Dordrecht would have to wait until 1953. Construction of the Drechttunnel in the late seventies makes the situation in this picture has undergone a major change.

Construction works on the Moerdijkbridge in 1935.

The original bridge, opened in 1936, had been heavily hit during WW-II: 5 out of 10 trestles had been severely damaged.

Freeway 13 near Rotterdam-Overschie in 1938.