Complex Project North-South Limburg
18038
From 2018 to 2021
TML conducted the social cost-benefit analysis for the Complex Project North-South Limburg, evaluating various plan alternatives for their economic and social impact, including environmental and welfare effects.
Today, the Limburg North-South Junction (N74/N715), the road between Hasselt and Eindhoven, runs right through the centre of the municipality of Houthalen-Helchteren. This not only has a negative impact on road safety and traffic flow, but also on the liveability in the municipality. The overall objective of the Complex Project North-South Limburg was to achieve a sustainable, integrated mobility solution for the benefit of the entire region and the municipality of Houthalen-Helchteren in particular. The project included road connections, public transport from Hasselt to North Limburg, bicycle connections, liveable village centres, and sustainable spaces. The scope of this study was broader than purely traffic-related: it also involved quality of life (people), nature, landscape, agriculture, and the economy.
TML conducted the social cost-benefit analysis (SCBA) of different plan alternatives for this project. In doing so, we mapped the welfare effects caused by the implementation of the plan alternatives, including alternatives with road tunnels and rail and tram links. These included not only the effects affecting the economy and mobility, but also those affecting the welfare of the population (environment, safety, and quality of life). We then discounted all our calculations into a balance that expresses the social return of the plan alternatives.
This SCBA is part of the wider integrated research in the investigation phase of the Complex Project procedure. Based on the research and an intense dialogue with a large group of stakeholders, the preferred alternative for the North-South was determined. The documents of the procedure are available here.
