Rail Underpass Hurdegaryp

Previously, there were two local trains and one express train per hour between Groningen and Leeuwarden. These trains could no longer transport the growing number of passengers during rush hour. Therefore, a new train connection has been constructed, allowing passengers to travel quickly and comfortably between the northern cities. ProRail has adapted the tracks between Groningen and Leeuwarden to make space for the extra train within the timetable. An improvement for travellers and for the mobility in the north of the Netherlands.

To increase safety, the level crossing at the Rijksstraatweg in Hurdegaryp has been replaced by an underpass. To ensure an optimal traffic flow, the underpass is connected to the ring road via a roundabout. ProRail is carrying out this project on behalf of the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment and the provinces of Groningen and Fryslân. To increase accessibility between the station area and the future Tjalling Koopmans college, a new bicycle bridge will be constructed over the underpass, parallel to the railway. Because the underpass is in the same area as the Central As, the design and integration are complementary.

The green tiling on the wall was developed for this project together with Koninklijke Tichelaar Makkum. It has been specially designed for the underpass and was inspired by the work of Gerrit Vlaskamp, an important landscape architect from Hurdegaryp. Vlaskamp designed show gardens in a style derived from English landscape gardens. The characteristic structure of his gardens has been translated into a tile pattern, with the garden paths adorning the walls as a pattern. The surfaces within this pattern are covered in tiles with an artisanal glaze. The uniqueness of the handmade wall coverings symbolizes the diversity of plants that Vlaskamp used in his garden designs.