08.05.2023

Last Saturday the renovated Tjalmaweg between Leiden and Katwijk was officially opened. After the ceremony, local residents and interested parties were allowed, as a one-off, to walk, skate or cycle along the asphalt. Architecture bureau ZJA worked together with BoschSlabbers on the design of the deepened and widened road.

Reinald Top (architect/partner at ZJA) was there. ‘Where once the Roman Limes ran, a wonderful new connection now delights the eye. The renovated Tjalmaweg has been integrated into the surrounding landscape with meticulous care. And soon, when the plants have completely covered the walls of the sunken road, driving here will be a green experience.’

Wider, deeper and greener

In 2020, with the building of the columns of the new Torenvliet Bridge, work on the N206 ir. G. Tjalmaweg began. At Valkenburg the road has been widened from 2x1 to 2x2 lanes, and a large stretch of it has been constructed below ground level. In doing so, use was made of an innovative structure involving watertight foil. There are also two new flyover intersections. Along the slatted walls of the sunken road, around 38,000 climbing plants create continual greenery and promote biodiversity. Under the Torenvliet Bridge a pleasant place to linger has been developed, with a wooden platform, seating, and a remarkable work of wall art by Gabriel Lester.

Part of the Rhineland Route

The Tjalmaweg is the first part of the RijnlandRoute project to open to traffic. Until the summer, Boskalis will be working on the completion of the Valkenburg-West viaduct, the underpass for the HOV bus lane, the layout of the strip of parkland and the building of the bicycle highway on the north side of the Tjalmaweg.