The Province of North Brabant, together with the municipalities of Dongen and Oosterhout, aims to improve safety, livability, and traffic flow on and around the N629 in the short term. The three authorities have commissioned an engineering firm to identify which combination of measures will yield the best results. The province and municipalities still support the relocation of the N629, but due to nitrogen restrictions, this is likely to be delayed for several years.

The N629 connects Dongen with the A27 near Oosterhout. Due to a significant increase in traffic over recent decades, the provincial road is overloaded. To improve traffic flow, livability, and safety, the province and municipalities decided in 2018 to upgrade the N629 in two phases.

  • Phase 1 consists of a better connection to the A27 and has now been completed.
  • Phase 2 involves a new connection between Ter Horst and Dongen, including a new bridge over the Wilhelminakanaal. This part of the project has been on hold since 2023 due to excessive nitrogen deposition on nature areas during the operational phase. New nitrogen calculations currently offer no prospect of realization.

Interim Measures

While awaiting the implementation of the original plan, measures are being investigated to improve the situation on and around the current N629 before that time. This includes optimizing traffic lights, reducing the speed limit, and making the road safer. In this way, safety, crossing ability, and livability should be improved, while deterring shortcut traffic and reducing noise disturbance for the surroundings.

An engineering firm has been asked to concretely develop these measures and advise on their effects. The contract will be awarded early 2026. The advice should be ready around the summer holidays of 2026. It will then also be clear which authority will take which actions, possibly in combination with regular maintenance.

Not Sitting Idle

“By making smart choices, we have succeeded in starting work on several projects despite nitrogen measures,” says Deputy Stijn Smeulders (mobility). “Unfortunately, this is not yet the case for the N629. But that does not mean that we as authorities will just sit idle. We can already take steps to improve our road and thus increase livability and traffic safety. I am glad that today we can give the starting signal for this and get to work quickly.”

“As the municipality of Dongen, we are doing everything possible to realize the renewed N629,” says alderman Annemarie van Eenennaam. “With the redesign of the Steenstraat-Duiventorenbaan intersection, we are already preparing for this. This not only improves traffic safety and flow in the short term but also ensures that the connection will seamlessly fit the new route of the N629.”

Fitting Well

Alderman Clèmens Piena (municipality of Oosterhout): “We are pleased that all parties continue to commit to the full realization of the plans for the N629. At the same time, it is also wise to work on measures in the meantime that promote flow and improve safety. We are carefully considering whether these measures fit into the plans for the N629 after realization in the somewhat longer term.”

In addition to measures to improve the road, a fund of 900,000 euros is available for improving the landscape around the project area. This can be used to pay for walking paths, benches, and nature development, for example.