The bizarre incident was reported by Dutch local newspaper Dagblad van het Noorden, who spoke to the recovery company that had been brought in to pull the truck out of a dead end.
Roemeense vrachtwagenchauffeur negeert afsluiting en rijdt zich vast tussen zandzakken in Prinses Margriettunnel: 'Moederziel alleen op een enkel baantje’ https://t.co/pTVoqzHNWt
— Dagblad van het Noorden (@dvhn_nl) January 25, 2023
According to one of the crew from the recovery company, the Romanian lorry driver had managed to go through or past “fences, barriers and stop signs” before eventually coming unstuck.
The road the lorry driver was driving on has been closed since mid-December. The decision was taken following the discovery that a section of the road in and around the Prince Margaret Tunnel on the A7 had risen and split due to groundwater.
Photo: Rijkswaterstaat (Directorate General for Public Works and Water Management in the Netherlands)
To prevent further damage and ensure safety, the damaged section of road, including the tunnel, was closed for repair.
As part of the roadworks, 1,700 sandbags were laid out onto the affected parts of road as ballast. They are currently being replaced by heavy concrete blocks that will be erected on the edges of the road surface.
It is hoped that the tunnel will be able to open with restrictions in 2 or 3 week’s time.
For the trucker who ignored the closed road signs, it is nonetheless 2 or 3 weeks too late. He has been fined and will also have to pay for the cost of recovering his vehicle.