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82-460: The Randstad's main cities are Almere , Amsterdam , Delft , Dordrecht , Haarlem , The Hague , Leiden , Rotterdam , Utrecht , and Zoetermeer . Other towns include Alkmaar , Alphen aan den Rijn , Amersfoort , Amstelveen , Capelle aan den IJssel , Gouda , Heerhugowaard , Hilversum , Hoofddorp , Hoorn , Lelystad , Nieuwegein , Oudewater , Purmerend , Rijswijk , Schiedam , Spijkenisse , Vlaardingen , Zaandam and Zeist . Although

164-420: A 4-kilometer-long (2.5 mi) northwards extension from the existing southern section of A4 from exit 27 to provincial road N286 north of Halsteren, to relieve provincial road N259 through that same town. By the end of 2010, construction had begun, and it was planned that the road would have been finished by the end of 2013. On 14 March 2012, the new segment of highway around Steenbergen was officially approved by

246-631: A classical centralistic metropolis . Amsterdam recently started to present itself as the Amsterdam metropolitan area ( Metropoolregio Amsterdam ). The expectation is that the use of the terms Noordvleugel and the Randstad will become less prevalent as a result. While Utrecht is not the center of the Noordvleugel, it is in fact the center of the whole of the Netherlands itself. While being categorised as part of

328-465: A few overnight bus lines (Mon-Sat nights only): N21, N22 and N23. They run under the Keolis internal name nightGo (but are operated by R-net branded regional buses). The bus company running almost all buses is Keolis Netherlands. Local buses (city buses) run under the name allGo. In the buses one can use the national transportation chipcard (smart card) , subscriptions or one can buy bus tickets of allGo in

410-459: A lot of local traffic also uses the motorways. Another growing issue is the number of trucks on the radiating motorways from the Randstad; truck volumes can be as high as 20,000 trucks per day, occupying the entire right lane on some motorways. The Randstad is the keystone of the Dutch railway network; most intercity connections terminate in one of the key cities in the Randstad. The railway network in

492-535: A population of around 3.6 million people, consists of the Haarlem and IJmuiden conurbations in the west, Amsterdam at the centre and Almere , the Gooi area and Utrecht in the east. The conurbation of Utrecht (population around one million) can be considered to be part of this wing, but can also be excluded. The cultural centre of the Noordvleugel, however, is notably centered on Amsterdam , which could as such be considered

574-415: A separate bus lane in most parts of the city). Almere is connected to the motorways A6 and A27 . In 1987 Almere was connected to the national railway system (see NS ) with the fully completed Flevolijn which connected Weesp to Lelystad Centrum . Almere currently has six railway stations: A seasonal-use station, Almere Strand , was set up for certain events, such as Libelle Zomerweek. The station

656-544: A turn. From the Knooppunt De Nieuwe Meer interchange, the road travels to the southeast, concurrent with a rail line that runs between both directions of the motorway. After 4 kilometres (2.5 mi), the road intersects A9 at the Badhoevedorp partial cloverleaf interchange . After leaving this interchange, the rails travel southwards underground towards Amsterdam Airport Schiphol . Continuing towards Schiphol,

738-553: Is a district where all street names are named after famous comics characters and cartoonists. Almere is the home of football team Almere City FC , American football team FlevoPhantoms and the home of professional basketball team the Almere Sailors . The traffic infrastructure in Almere is recognisable because of its separate infrastructure for cycles (which, in most cases, have separate cycle paths), cars and buses (the buses drive on

820-416: Is a major mode of transport. The Port of Rotterdam , and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , are both major international gateways. There are various smaller ports and airports in the Randstad, like the ports of IJmuiden, Amsterdam and Dordrecht, as well as Rotterdam The Hague Airport . The Randstad has various motorways, most of them starting around Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Many (inter)national corridors start in

902-668: Is home to some of the most reputable universities in Europe, including the University of Amsterdam , the VU Amsterdam , Leiden University , Erasmus University Rotterdam , Utrecht University and the Delft University of Technology . The Randstad possesses a large infrastructure system, with many railways, motorways, trams and subways in various cities. It is possible to cycle on reasonably safe and pleasant routes almost everywhere and cycling

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984-611: Is planned for completion around 2020. There are plans to allow more capacity between Leidschendam and The Hague-Zuid due to the traffic congestion between the Ypenburg and Prins Clausplein interchanges, because of the development of the Rotterdam and The Hague regions. There are also plans for the A4 to make The Hague less reliant on the Utrechtsebaan. On 15 May 2012, the draft rijksstructuurvisie

1066-513: Is projected near Utrecht. Some hard shoulders are in use as peak hour lanes – traffic is allowed to use the hard shoulder as a third or fourth lane during periods of congestion, when traffic management signs indicate. Since these expansions traffic jams (which used to be quite intense) have been reduced by up to 25%. Traffic on the highway still is quite heavy, though. Because of the many obstructions in minor roads, such as one-way or circular routes (often created to make living neighbourhoods safer),

1148-612: Is the latest missing link of the A4 to have been constructed. It connects the south end of the A29 with another segment of the A4 that was already constructed near Bergen op Zoom. The construction of this missing link relieved the A16 and A17 from their constant traffic jams near Dordrecht, the Moerdijk bridge, and Bergen op Zoom, since they were the main and only considerably fast motorways for traveling from major Dutch cities like The Hague and Rotterdam toward

1230-534: The IJmeer from Amsterdam . Bordering Lelystad and Zeewolde , the municipality of Almere comprises six official areas that are the districts of Almere Stad (which is further split up into Almere Stad Oost, Almere Stad West and Almere Centrum), Almere Buiten and Almere Pampus (which is currently being designed), and the boroughs of Almere Haven , Almere Hout and Almere Poort . Four of them feature official district or borough offices. Furthermore, it also comprises

1312-524: The Ringvaart canal. One lane of Rijksweg 4 between Klaaswaal and the Hellegatsplein interchange opened in 1964, and in 1965, another lane was added. This section is currently designated as the A29. In 1966, another standalone section of the A4 was opened with 3 lanes in each direction, between Amsterdam (where the Badhoevedorp interchange is now located) and Hoofddorp , leaving a gap between Hoofddorp and

1394-705: The Vinex-location Leidschenveen-Ypenburg in the municipality of The Hague, the motorway connects to the Prins Clausplein stack interchange with the A12 and the E30, and the Ypenburg interchange with the E30 ( A13 ) and the E19. In between these two interchanges, the A4, the E19, and the E30 all run concurrently, and at this location, there is a basketweave exchange . The outer lanes of the basketweave are for connecting

1476-500: The 2x3 lanes on this segment of the A4 during rush hours, which saw use by 180,000 vehicles every day. Construction for the express lanes was started in the summer of 2010. The same year, construction also started on new lanes between Hoofddorp and Hoofddorp-Zuid for the construction of the realigned N201, commissioned by the province of North Holland. These parallel lanes are between the Den Ruygen Hoek rest area and Schiphol exit. Work

1558-569: The A13 and the stack exchange ramps to and from the A12, and the inner lanes are the continuing the A4. Leaving the basketweave interchange, the A4, now concurrent with the E30, continues southwards towards southeastern Delft , where it continues partially below ground level through the Midden-Delfland region. It then enters the Rotterdam region at the semi-directional Kethelplein T-interchange, where

1640-496: The A15 and the A29 are currently being widened, this section of the A4 seems more and more unlikely to be built. The motorway section between Klaaswaal and the Sabina interchange near Dinteloord is currently known and designated as the A29, but the intention is to include it in the A4 motorway and designate it as such in the future. When the missing link between interchange Benelux and Klaaswaal

1722-545: The A15. The final segment of the A4 with the A29 starts in the province of North Brabant near Heijningen at the Hellegatsplein interchange, crossing the estuaries Hollands Diep (to the east), Haringvliet , and the Volkerak (to the west). Shortly after, the A4 enters the Sabina trumpet interchange (named after a nearby fort) with the A59 . The A29 and the A59 both enter this interchange from

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1804-491: The A4 between Zoeterwoude and Leidschendam was widened to 2x3 lanes, and in 1999, the part between Leidschendam and the Prins Clausplein interchange was widened to 2x5 lanes. In 2003, a new set of express lanes was added to both directions between Hoofddorp and the Burgerveen interchange, giving this segment a total of 2x5 lanes. Formerly restricted to rush hours, these express lanes were permanently opened on 2 April 2013. In 2006,

1886-593: The A4 enters the 650-meter-long (2,130 ft) Schiphol tunnel underneath a runway and two taxiways . Exit 2 of the motorway serves the airport. After this, another taxiway bridge crosses the A4. Southeast of Schiphol, A5 joins the A4 at the De Hoek incomplete interchange. This interchange lacks a ramp from the A5 to the northbound lane of the A4, because the A9 already serves traffic from A5 to A4 in both directions. Shortly before leaving

1968-646: The A4 travels to the south and the A20 (concurrent with the E25) travels from east to west. When traveling under train tracks, the road approaches exit 16, which allows access to Vlaardingen to the east and Schiedam to the west. This exit is special, as the northern exit and southern entrance first travel parallel with the A4 through the Beneluxtunnel under the Nieuwe Maas river. This results in more lanes for drivers to use, since

2050-432: The A4. Supporters of the planned 12-kilometer-long motorway state that cities like Hoogvliet , Spijkenisse , Barendrecht and Rotterdam would be significantly less congested, and that overall traffic flow would be restored. Opponents, among which are environmentalists, state that the construction of the missing link would only result in more traffic and thus more congestion, leading to negative environmental effects. Since

2132-587: The Burgerveen interchange. The Badhoevedorp interchange, which is between Amsterdam and Hoofddorp, was opened a year later in 1967, which was the first cloverleaf interchange with collector/distributor lanes in the Netherlands. In 1972, this segment of the A4 was lengthened northward to connect to the De Nieuwe Meer interchange. Another unconnected section of the A4 was constructed at the Kethelplein en Pernis interchange in 1967 in western Rotterdam . This included

2214-530: The Dutch Council of State. On 18 June 2012, another small extension was added to the southern segment of the A4, a 1.5-kilometer-long (0.93 mi) highway linking Halsteren and Klutsdorp. By the end of December 2013, the final segment around Steenbergen between Klutsdorp and A29 near Dinteloord was completed, which created a continuously running link between Rotterdam and the Belgian border over A29 and A4. Due to

2296-461: The Dutch government decided that this section would be constructed. On 2 September 2010, minister Camiel Eurlings made a record of the decision for this road segment, and on 6 July 2011, all appeals against the decision were dismissed. In autumn 2011, construction began. The missing link was completed in late 2015 and was opened on 18 December 2015 (northbound) and 20 December 2015 (southbound). The section between Dinteloord and Halsteren until 2015

2378-593: The E312 both leave the A4 and travel to the west, entering the province of Zeeland . The A4, however, continues to the south until reaching the Belgian border near Zandvliet. A few meters before crossing the border, the northbound entrance and southbound exit ramps start on Dutch soil; the rest of this exit is within Belgium and is part of the Belgian A12 . Work started on A4 in the 1930s, and followed high construction standards for

2460-558: The Government of the Netherlands, reveals that the Noordvleugel (Amsterdam and Utrecht region) is already growing parallel to the A1, A2, and A4 motorways, as well as into the northern part of North Holland (Alkmaar and Hoorn region) and Flevoland (Almere and Lelystad region). There is also a trend shown that the Noordvleugel is expanding parallel to the A2 (Amsterdam towards Eindhoven) and A12 (Utrecht towards

2542-511: The Kethelplein interchange in Schiedam and running southwards. The missing segment caused huge congestion on the adjacent parallel A13, which was the only motorway connecting The Hague and Rotterdam. There have been plans for creating this missing link in the past, but the government diverted finances to other projects twice. In 2006, it was estimated that this 7-kilometre-long (4.3 mi) missing section would cost € 700 million to build, and in 2009,

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2624-578: The N434, the parallel structure near Zoeterwoude will have to be lengthened even further southward up to the Hofvliet interchange with the Rijnlandroute. On 9 May 2014, the draft of a plan to widen part of the A4 was made available for inspection, followed by the real planning procedure on 17 December 2014. Construction on this will according to the plan be started in 2015. The A4 will be widened to 2x4 lanes between

2706-533: The Oude Rijn river was another bottleneck with only 2x2 lanes. After this segment, 2x3 lanes were once again available. The A4 towards Amsterdam was widened to three lanes between Hoogmade and Roelfarendsveen in 2005, with a lane added to the other direction the following year. The low bridge over the Oude Rijn was replaced by the Limes aqueduct, making the A4 deeper than 1,400 metres (4,600 ft). A second Ringvaart aqueduct

2788-422: The Randstad share some commonalities, there are also large differences originating in centuries of divergent development. There are strong local identities within the region, especially in rural environments. Politically, the Randstad is broadly right -leaning and conservative , with student cities, including Amsterdam, Utrecht, Haarlem, Leiden and Delft, being more left -leaning and progressive . The Randstad

2870-441: The Randstad, including the A1, A2, A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, A9, A10, A12, A13, A15, A16, A20, A27 and A28 autosnelwegen , as well as various commuter routes. The Randstad network of motorways carry some of the highest traffic volumes in Europe. Until 2005 most motorways used to be no wider than four or six lanes, but from 2005 on capacity of most major highways expanded to six or eight and on some parts even ten lanes. A 14-lane highway

2952-485: The Randstad, the Utrecht agglomeration lies relatively further apart, owing to its long history of rivalry with Holland and Amsterdam in particular. Utrecht is much more monocentric than Amsterdam, which has booming satellite cities such as Haarlem and Almere. While Utrecht functions as the gateway to the Randstad for both car and rail transport, it is disconnected from the virtually continuous urbanised zone in western Holland by

3034-513: The Randstad. Over the last few decades, a major topic in the Randstad is the conflict between the cities and the towns in between. These towns and the surrounding countryside, known as the Groene Hart (Green Heart), are usually much greener than the cities, they house many commuters that work in the cities and the former strongly depend on the latter for facilities such as hospitals and large scale entertainment. Cities need more space to expand, yet

3116-509: The Randstad. Both branches (government and media) have their centre in the Randstad; respectively in The Hague and in Hilversum . The Randstad itself, however, does not represent a unified cultural zone. It is not a 'place' of residence or a carrier of cultural identity. According to the late influential urbanist Niek de Boer , the Randstad simply 'does not exist'. While the cities and landscapes in

3198-530: The Steenbergsche Haven canal. While a road east of Steenbergen would be much shorter and less expensive, it would have traversed through the Mark river area, which was opposed by many since it is seen as an important natural aspect in the region. The first segment of the missing link, the so-called Halsteren bypass, was opened on December 21, 2007, by Minister of Transport Camiel Eurlings. This bypass consists of

3280-515: The WERV region, encompassing the cities of Wageningen , Ede , Rhenen and Veenendaal ) motorways. This region is called the Zuidoostflank (English: Southeastside). It is sometimes argued that a cultural divide exists between the Randstad and the rest of the country. This distinction is usually made in relation to Dutch politics and media, who according to critics are mostly interested in the affairs of

3362-645: The area is dense and heavily used. Together with the Swiss Federal Railways (1st), and the Belgian railways (3rd), the Dutch Railways are in the top 3 of Europe in punctuality. Larger cities in the Randstad have many railway stations, as well as light rail, subway and/or tram networks. Much effort is being expended in increasing the cycling rate of the Randstad. The campaign Fietsfilevrij exists to encourage cycling as an alternative to waiting in traffic jams on

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3444-506: The bus or at TVM's (the latter only Downtown). Besides the local bus lines, there are regional and rush hour bus lines to towns and cities in the area. Line 159 is operated by the bus company Connexxion . Since April 2012, there was a rush hour route, 150, to Utrecht which connected Almere directly with the University Area of Utrecht called De Uithof . (This was previously done by former bus line 295 ). Due to budget cuts, line 150

3526-407: The cities of Antwerp and Brussels in Belgium. Finances for the 16-kilometre-long (9.9 mi) missing link were first acquired in 2005, consisting of a budget of €218 million. In 2006, contracts for construction near Halsteren were awarded to construction companies, and in 2007, the government decided that the A4 would be constructed west of Steenbergen, which would require creating an aqueduct under

3608-520: The construction of the Beneluxtunnel under the Nieuwe Maas, which was a tolled tunnel at construction but was converted to free in 1980. In 1972, this section was extended southward to the Benelux interchange. In 1971, the sections of Rijksweg 4 designated as A29 were extended from the Hellegatsplein interchange to Dinteloord . It was first administratively and publicly known as Rijksweg 19, but in 1976, it

3690-419: The council of Almere has comprised a total of 45 members. Almere maintains international relations with the following twin cities : Almere is located in the polder of Southern Flevoland (Dutch: Zuidelijk Flevoland ). It is the most western municipality of the province Flevoland . It borders with Markermeer in the west and north, Lelystad in the northeast, Zeewolde in the east, and Gooimeer in

3772-504: The eastern segment of the A10 onto the A4, and the E22 begins northwards along the A10. Even though the A4 starts at this interchange, the A4 has priority from the eastern direction toward the interchange, as entering onto the A4 from the east does not require a turn (in contrast to staying on the A10, which requires a turn to the right). From the north, staying on the A10 and entering the A4 both require

3854-400: The government in 1961, as part of the then-called Road 19, and space was reserved by the government in 2005. By constructing this missing link, the A4 would be one continuously running road from the Kethelplein interchange, west of the city of Rotterdam, to the Belgian border. It would also relieve the A15 and A29 from traffic jams, since they currently serve as a link between the two sections of

3936-455: The missing link between Pernis (south of Schiedam and west of Rotterdam) and the A29 near Klaaswaal, though right-of-way has been acquired for the future A29 interchange with the A4. The A4 begins in the province of North Holland in the southeastern part of the city of Amsterdam at an interchange on the A10 ring road called Knooppunt De Nieuwe Meer. At this interchange, the E19 continues from

4018-408: The motorway. Bicycle "superhighways" have been built on which cyclists have priority for long distance, high speed cycle commuting. For instance, one of these stretches the 50 km distance between Amsterdam and Utrecht. Almere Almere ( Dutch pronunciation: [ɑlˈmeːrə] ) is a planned city and municipality in the province of Flevoland , Netherlands across

4100-564: The municipalities in Flevoland with 214,715 citizens in 2021 and the 8th largest in the Netherlands. In October 2007, the city council of Almere made agreements with the government to expand the city to 350,000 inhabitants by 2030. The original plans for the IJsselmeerpolders saw the land being used for agriculture. However, after World War II housing was needed for the rapidly growing population of Amsterdam and two towns were planned in

4182-460: The name Randstad is often translated into English as "edge city" or "border city", a more accurate translation would be "rim city". The Dutch name was coined in 1938 by KLM founder Albert Plesman who, while flying over the region, used it to describe a strip of cities at the rim of a large green agricultural area (the Green Heart ). While technically more of a crescent (the southeastern edge of

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4264-400: The new interchange Hofvliet and exit Leidschendam. To allow this, only a southern lane needs to be built because there is already a northbound emergency lane present. Costs are estimated at €11.3 million. On 26 September 2013, the decision to start was made, and on 11 July 2014, the draft planning procedure was shown, followed by the final planning procedure on 18 December 2014. Construction

4346-488: The newest parts of the city. The housing plan in Almere in the 1970s was basic functionality and a levelling of social status. However, starting in the 1990s more exclusive homes with striking designs were built (notably in the Regenboogbuurt). Hein van der Loo (independent) has been mayor of Almere since March 2023, with the municipal council consisting of a coalition of several parties. The first municipal council

4428-464: The north, and the A29 ends here. The A4 continues to the south, while the A59 branches off to the east. Crossing the Dintel and passing by Dinteloord , the A4 makes a large curve to the west and subsequently continues to the south, forming a tangent around Steenbergen . In the southern part of the curve, the A4 travels along Fort Henricus, a now-demolished fort with only the shape of the land intact. Here,

4510-499: The old A4 was destroyed and the construction of the second aqueduct was started. On 25 October 2014, the second aqueduct opened. The aqueduct has space for 2x5 lanes, plus emergency lanes. The aqueduct was completely widened on 1 December 2014, when the aqueduct toward The Hague gained three normal-width lanes. Until 2015, the A4 southwest of Delft had its southern terminus of the section start in Amsterdam, with another section starting at

4592-516: The platforms once stood from the windows of Flevolijn trains. In Almere there are 11 bus lines which service the urban area. Monday to Friday, most city buses run about every 5 minutes (10 times every hour) during daytime hours. Saturdays, only a few city bus lines run every 7.5 minutes during daytime hours; most of them run every 12–15 minutes. Sunday, most of the city buses run every 15 minutes (with some buses running extra runs during certain hours) and M6 which only runs every 30 minutes. There are

4674-574: The polders Oostelijk Flevoland and Zuidelijk Flevoland. The town in Oostelijk Flevoland became Lelystad . The town in Zuidelijk Flevoland was still called Zuidweststad (English: South West City) on the first sketches, but in the 1970s it became called Almere , named after the lake Almere , the early medieval name of the Zuiderzee . The first house in Almere was finished in 1976. At that time

4756-577: The protected polder landscape of the Groene Hart . The North Wing of the Randstad is expected to grow more in population than the Zuidvleugel and the Groene Hart areas, with the growth of population also being in effect for a longer period of time, compared to the other two areas. The Zuidvleugel ("South Wing"), with a population of around 3.5 million people, stretches some 60 kilometers from Dordrecht in

4838-653: The province of North Holland and entering South Holland, the A44 branches off of the A4 at the Burgerveen interchange. This interchange is also incomplete, as one can only travel onto the A44 from Amsterdam. The road crosses the Ringvaart using the Ringvaart aqueduct and enters South Holland. At the border between Leiderdorp and Leiden , the road uses the Limes aqueduct to travel under the Oude Rijn river. The A4 now approaches The Hague . In

4920-434: The ramps connect to the A4 on the southern side of the Nieuwe Maas. They branch off shortly after and enter the Benelux interchange (named 17a so as to not confuse drivers, since the previous exit on A15 to the west is already exit 17), an incomplete T-interchange with only a southbound exit and a northbound entrance. This interchange is the southern terminus of this segment of the A4, and the road continues both west and east as

5002-470: The rearrangement of the A9 near Badhoevedorp, the Badhoevedorp interchange with the A4 will also be altered. The new arrangement is intended to make the A9 travel around Badhoevedorp in the shape of an arc, necessitating the rearrangement of the interchange. Construction has been started in December 2013 and is planned to be done in 2017. Because of the construction of the Rijnlandroute, which will be designated as

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5084-409: The rim is significantly less populated), the ring shape formed by connecting the four major cities of the region led to the use of the name "Ring City". Randstad contributes around half or 53% of the Netherlands total GDP. Recently, Dutch planners have started to refer to the Randstad as Deltametropool . This actually consists of two large metropolitan areas: The Noordvleugel ("North Wing"), with

5166-604: The road also tunnels under the Steenbergse Haven using the third Steenbergen aan Zee aqueduct. The A4 continues southbound and passes Bergen op Zoom to the east, with a few exits serving this city. Between exits 27 and 28, the A58 runs concurrent with the E312, which joins A4 to the south. All three roads travel concurrently southbound, and at the Markiezaat trumpet interchange, the A58 and

5248-400: The second section starts near Heijningen, where the A29 and the A4 meet, going to the Belgian border. Between the A29 near the village of Klaaswaal (south of Rotterdam), and the Sabina interchange (where the A4-A29 meets the A59 ), the route is numbered A29. Three European routes run concurrently with this highway at some point: E19 , E30 , and E312 . There are no authorized plans for

5330-415: The section around Bergen op Zoom was extended southwards from the Markiezaat interchange (where concurrency with A58 stopped) to the Belgian border near Zandvliet , where it connected to the Belgian A12. In 1999, the section between The Hague-Zuid and Delft-Zuid opened for traffic after the section between the Ypenburg interchange and The Hague-Zuid was opened with 3 lanes in each direction in 1998. In 1998,

5412-415: The segment between Hoogmade and Roelafarendsveen was widened to 2x3 lanes. In 1997, construction had started on the second Beneluxtunnel in Rotterdam. On 11 May 2002, the project was completed with 4x2 lanes and a reversible lane, allowing for 5 available lanes in the peak direction. Between the De Nieuwe Meer and Badhoevedorp interchanges in southwestern Amsterdam, express lanes were added in 2011 to relieve

5494-422: The south of Delft to Rotterdam has also been constructed, creating a second connection from Rotterdam , via The Hague , to Amsterdam . A possible new area would be the Zuidoostflank; parallel to the A2 motorway (from Amsterdam to Eindhoven) and parallel to the A12 motorway (Utrecht to WERV (Wageningen, Ede, Rhenen and Veenendaal)), as this region has much potential to strengthen the knowledge economy of

5576-440: The south. Almere consists of three boroughs and three districts (Dutch: stadsdelen ), three of which are under construction. Almere has an oceanic climate characterized by mild to cool winters, and warm summers with fair precipitation year-round. On 19 May 2004, at the instigation of Kees Kousemaker , owner of the Amsterdam comics store Lambiek , the first buildings of the Stripheldenbuurt were inaugurated in Almere. This

5658-417: The southeast to Leiden in the north. The main conurbations are the Rotterdam and The Hague areas. The virtual centre of the Zuidvleugel lies in between these two major cities, near Delft . The first steps toward this development were taken with the construction of a new fast light-rail connection between Rotterdam and The Hague : RandstadRail . A long-delayed extension of the western A4 motorway from

5740-427: The time. By the late 1930s, various sections were in service. One of these roads went between Amsterdam and Sassenheim , and while part of the historical A4, it is not on the current route. In 1938, ground was broken for Rijksweg 4A, which went between Burgerveen and Leidschendam . This road would later be renumbered to Rijksweg 4, and it now forms a section of A4. Groundwork began in 1939 near Leidschendam , but

5822-410: The town was still controlled by the Openbaar Lichaam Zuidelijke IJsselmeerpolders (Z.IJ.P.), with a Landdrost . In 1984 Almere became an official municipality. Originally, Almere was envisioned as a town with multiple centres. This idea was later abandoned in favor of allowing neighbourhoods like Tussen de Vaarten to be built. There is also a difference between the way houses are built in the oldest and

5904-437: The towns fear losing their identity and autonomy. The Randstad's borders have never been officially specified. Some consider only the four most populous cities of the Netherlands (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht) part of it, others would say that areas such as Alkmaar (which represents itself as being part of it), Hoorn and Lelystad are also part of this conurbation. The publication "Randstad 2040", released by

5986-648: The unofficial historic district and neighborhood Oostvaardersdiep. Almere is part of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (MRA). Almere is the newest city in the Netherlands: the land on which the city sits, the Southern Flevoland polder , was reclaimed from the IJsselmeer from 1959 to 1968. The first house was finished in 1976, and Almere became a municipality in 1984. It has the largest population of

6068-459: Was also constructed near Roelfarendsveen, which was formally opened on 31 July 2010, after which the existing aqueduct from 1961 was renovated. On 24 November 2010, the 2x3 lanes were formally opened by minister Melanie Schultz , significantly reducing traffic congestion as a result. The opening of the Limes aqueduct was in two phases. The first aqueduct was opened in 2012 next to the existing A4, almost immediately with 2x3 narrowed lanes, after which

6150-473: Was cancelled in 1942 due to World War II . Construction of the Ypenburg interchange also started that same year. In 1957, the A4 opened between the Ypenburg and Leidschendam interchanges, the latter now known as Prins Clausplein, with 2 lanes in both directions. Construction from the latter interchange further north to Hoogmade was done in 1958. In 1960 and 1961, the section between the Burgerveen and Hoogmade interchanges opened, including an aqueduct underneath

6232-404: Was completed on 15 December 2013. Entering the Burgerveen interchange from the north, the A4 has 2x5 lanes, which is reduced to 2x2 after leaving the interchange. Even though a lot of traffic is headed to the A44 at this interchange, this was still an important bottleneck, with some 100,000 vehicles every day in the Ringvaart aqueduct that also lacked emergency lanes. Further south, the bridge over

6314-405: Was decided to open an official station there (see Almere Poort ), thus making the station of Almere Strand obsolete. Almere Poort station opened on December 9, 2012. Therefore, Almere Strand station was officially closed just after the summer of 2012 and its iron platforms were torn down in the weekend of October 6–7, 2012. There are no remains of the station, although passengers can still see where

6396-409: Was determined, and on 21 November 2012, the final rijksstructuurvisie followed. The plans are to change this part of the A4 between 2020 and 2023. At this point in time, there is no motorway between interchange Benelux and the A29 near Klaaswaal. However, an extension of the A4 southwards is possible without changing the layout of the Benelux interchange. This missing section was already approved by

6478-549: Was installed on 2 January 1984 in the presence of the then-Minister of the Interior Koos Rietkerk . The council elections took place on 21 September 1983. Prior to 1984 Almere had an Adviesraad , which was chosen every 2 years (1978–1980, 1980–1982, 1982–1984). This Adviesraad was made up of different political parties similar to a local council. On 11 March 1977 the first adviescommissie was elected. It consisted of 5 people that were chosen on personal title. Since 2018,

6560-573: Was made up of iron platforms. It was opened in May 1996 under the name Muiderzand . The station was closed after June 1996 but re-opened in June 1999 under the name Muiderstrand and closed again in July 1999. It re-opened again in 2001 under the name Almere Strand as an official seasonal-use station, meaning it was now open certain seasons every year. Because of the rapid development of the adjacent borough Almere Poort, it

6642-552: Was renumbered to Rijksweg 4 and designated as A29. Another section of Rijksweg 4 concurrent with A58 was opened around Bergen op Zoom between 1973 and 1976. In 1985, the Leidschendam interchange was renamed and redesigned to a 4-level stack interchange Prins Clausplein. The segment between Badhoevedorp and Hoofddorp was widened to 2x4 lanes in 1988, and ten years later in 1998, the tubes in the Schipholtunnel were renewed. In 1993,

6724-527: Was scrapped on July 9, 2016. A4 motorway (Netherlands) The A4 motorway , also called Rijksweg 4 , is a motorway in the Netherlands running southwards from Amsterdam to the Belgian border near Zandvliet , north of the city of Antwerp . The 119-kilometre-long (74 mi) A4 is divided into two sections; the first and longer section runs from Amsterdam to the A15 near the city of Rotterdam , while

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