There was a 17% increase in the volume of traffic jams on Dutch roads this year, according to the annual summary by motoring organisation ANWB.

Jams increased during both the morning and evening rush hour as well as during the day, the ANWB said. The association estimates the Netherlands is  now back at 2008 congestion levels, despite the expansion in the roads network.

‘Over the past 10 years, the number of cars on the Dutch roads has grown by one million and we are also traveling more, thanks to economic growth,’ ANWB director Frits van Bruggen said.

The biggest morning traffic blackspot was the A1 between Apeldoorn and Amsterdam while in the evening, pressure was worst on the A27 from Utrecht to Breda.

The worst day for traffic congestion was January 22 when snow and rain helped create 2,287 kilometres of jams, the ANWB said.