H. Schmal.

Tolopbrengsten en verkeer op doorgaande verharde wegen in Nederland in de 19e eeuw.

Historisch geografisch tijdschrift 26 (2008) 97 - 116.

Koning Willem I was er van overtuigd dat ter stimulering van de handel en van het verkeer de aanleg van nieuwe wegen en het onderhoud van reeds bestaande noodzakelijk was (KB 24 - 2 - 1815; Stbl. 18). Een wegennet dat het hele land ontsloot vormde in zijn ogen een noodzakelijke voorwaarde om het jonge koninkrijk te kunnen laten uitgroeien tot een eenheid. In de eerste helft van de 19e eeuw werden er op initiatief van het Rijk dan ook vele straatwegen aangelegd. Rond 1850 bestond er een netwerk van verharde doorgaande wegen waarbij de verschillende landsdelen en alle grote steden met elkaar waren verbonden.

Toll receipts and traffic on paved roads in the Netherlands during the 19th century

During the first half of the 19th century a road transport network was constructed in the Netherlands that covered the whole country. The roads connected the most important towns and led to several economically well-developed areas abroad. In the western and northern part of the Netherlands passenger traffic by road had to compete with traffic by waterways. In these areas the barge system had proved its worth for over two centuries. But during the 1820s and 1830s, this means of transportation had to yield considerable ground to coaches that made use of the expanding network of paved roads. Toll receipts show the success of the newly constructed roads. These records show very different patterns depending on time and place. After a strong growth during the first decades of the 19th century, road traffic had to compete with the transportation by rail. The records show that roads running parallel to railways were strongly affected. But in a number of cases roads could function as a feeder road for transportation by rail. Monthly and daily records indicate that the nature of transportation by road varied greatly. After the introduction of the railroad, the road lost intercity traffic and served local purposes as transportation to markets in town and travelling from towns to the countryside for recreational purposes.