In 2024, we made ourselves noticed more than ever

You may look back on 2024 as a year full of motorway closures and changes to metro and railway timetables. It is certainly true that there were times when we tested your flexibility (and your patience), but all for good reason. Throughout all of these closures, we were making rapid progress building the Brittenpassage – the additional passenger tunnel at Amsterdam Zuid station and also began work on the widening of the A10 Zuid.

The works in and around the station were at their most intense during the summer. In the space of just six weeks, the Nieuw-Zuid construction consortium (Mobilis, Boskalis and Van Gelder) increased the height of the most northerly metro track and platform across the entire length between Parnassusweg and Beethovenstraat. In addition, we also moved yet another section of the new roof for the existing station passageway into position. And we completed the roof on the new Brittenpassage. Besides that, next to Parnassusweg, we also had time to demolish an existing viaduct and replace it with a brand-new one. This was a challenging operation in the limited time (and space) available for it, but proved remarkably successful.

At the start of this year, the new passenger tunnel at Amsterdam Zuid station, the Brittenpassage, still consisted of two large underground sand pits, separated by a row of sheet piling. In 2024, we installed the foundations for the passageway floor (350 piles), built several areas of crawlspace, replaced the temporary support poles with permanent columns and built the concrete walls of the passageway. During the summer, the long-awaited ‘breakthrough’ from north to south was finally possible, and, as the cherry on the cake in November, we pushed the very last (and seventh) roof section for the passenger tunnel into position. This means that the roof – on which construction work started back in 2019 – is now finally in position. It marks a real milestone.

The development of Zuidas also continued at pace in 2024. In the Kenniskwartier Innovation District, numerous buildings were completed, including the vibration-free VU Research Building and RDC ADORE. But the real stand-out achievement was quite literally The Pulse of Amsterdam, which, with its two towers alongside the A10 Zuid, can now rightly be referred to as a Zuidas icon. The complex not only includes housing and offices, but also a cinema and space for hospitality/catering. Kenniskwartier is now starting to come alive and there are plenty of plans for the neighbourhood still to come. 

A large amount of new office accommodation was added: PI59 – the new Philips headquarters – was completed, and the Strawinskyhuis was taken into use. Other major events included the installation of the long-awaited Art Bridge (Kunstbrug) across the De Boelegracht and the dismantling of the Circl circular pavilion in Mahlerplein. On the Boogkavel plot, left undeveloped for years, the first outlines of The CubeHouse began to take shape, and, at the edge of Beatrixpark, construction work started on the two Park Meadows residential towers. All kinds of new plans were also revealed, including for the (social) rented housing in Het Duet, the redevelopment of the ABN AMRO head offices (Mahler 1) and the Ceci apartment complex.

Between De Boelelaan and the AFC football pitches, the brand-new (and car-free) Ravel residential district gradually began to take shape. In 2024, we dug out the 425 m wide Ravelgracht canal between Goed Genoeg Sports Park and the future residential district, which we connected to each other by means of a bridge. Alongside the canal, we began construction work on Maurice Ravellaan, the avenue scheduled for completion in early 2025. The first pile-driving took place for the new accommodation for the De Kindercampus and for the social rented housing tower Ravelly. We also presented the design for The Harmony (plots C and D, in Beethovenstraat).

Later in the year, the focus slowly shifted from the works in Zuidas further to the west, around the De Nieuwe Meer junction. Here, everything revolved around creating space for the future widening of the A10 Zuid. And that space is in short supply, which meant that the TriAX construction consortium (Besix, Dura Vermeer, Heijmans) had to do some nifty manoeuvring. There were very good reasons why we had to close the A10 Zuid for eight weekends in the second half of the year alone. During those weekends, we inserted sheet piling into the ground and moved some cables and pipelines. We were able to get a lot of work done, although a few of the road closures went hand-in-hand with some serious traffic disruption.

At the Nieuwe Meersluis lock, we closed the waterway for a six-week period, partly in order to enable the Schinkelbrug bridge control towers to be safely demolished. They are making way for extra bridges across the river Schinkel, also required for the motorway widening. Cyclists and pedestrians also faced diversions: as we closed various (cycle) paths around the Schinkelbrug, including Jachthavenweg (permanently) and Piet Kranenbergpad (until 2026). In the future, there will be a brand-new cycle link across the Schinkel here.

There was even more good news for Zuidasdok: the contract for the construction of the A10 Zuid tunnel was finally awarded to Van Hattum & Blankevoort. In addition, the tender procedure for the Amstel junction was also initiated.

We could easily forget to mention it, but 2024 was also the first time we organised two information markets at our (revamped) Zuidas-Zuidasdok Information Centre. Because they proved so successful, we also plan to organise more information markets in 2025. Of course, even without a market, you are warmly welcome at our Information Centre during normal opening hours. Keep a close eye on our website for all upcoming events and subscribe to our newsletter. This will ensure you always stay up-to-date.