The air quality in the Netherlands, especially near roads, has improved since the 1990’s and concentrations of NO2 are expected to continue to decrease. At the same time, EU Directives on air quality with defined limit values for 2005 and 2010, still ask for a considerable extra effort of authorities. The responsibility to start initiatives for air quality measures is placed at different authority layers. In this article, a general description is given on air quality problems near Dutch highways, with emphasis on the role of the Directorate General of Public Works and Water Management and specifically for the pollutant NO2 on Dutch highways. In contradiction to issues related to noise problems, where in recent years a lot of experience is acquired on possible measures, the search for effective air quality measures near highway as still continues. In the coming years, a further decrease of traffic emissions is expected due to strong improvement of motor technology (EURO 4 and 5 limits). On a local level on highways, few measures with the explicit goal to improve air quality have so far been tested. Decrease of speed limits and the effect of noise barriers on air quality are the main tested measures. The Dutch government has started an Innovation Programme Air Quality (IPL). This program will use pilot experiments in order to search for and finetune combinations of cost effective measures to help improve air quality near highways. At the same time, international cooperation in the search for measures near highway as is stimulated within Western Europe, in the form of the CEDR air quality platform. The article concludes with some examples of possible directions for new air quality measures, which can be further investigated, tested and finetuned in the IPL programme. (Author/publisher)
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