Whitehouse's random road movies!

**Whitehouse** · March-23-11, 01:28 PM

New thread opening here. I started filming random stretches of roads and motorways, purely for your enjoyment. I hope you like this.

The topic opener is a double bill of the Afsluitdijk, or in English the Enclosure dam [[cause technically it's not a dike which protects land but merely devides two bodies of water. The salt Wadden sea and the freshwater IJssel lake.) This is a crossing from west to east. The dam itself is 32 kilometers long, so about 20 miles.

Bing maps.

Wikipedia.

This is the entrance to of the western side of the Afsluitdijk in the A7 motorway. After crossing the double swing bridge we you enter the Stevin sluizen [[sluices), a drain for the IJssel lake onto the Wadden sea. The A7 in this part is the only stretch of motorway where 130km/h is permitted, apart from the sluices crossing where 70km/h is permitted.

The second video is the exit on the other end of the dam. First we enter the Lorentz sluices before crossing a double swing bridge. On the right you can see the WWII casemates which in the early days of the war made some stiff resisance against the German forces. They only had to give themselves up after the bombardment of the city of Rotterdam after which the government signed the surrender. Today the fortress is a museum.

Now I hope to make much more clips like these. There are already two on the waiting list. I hope to see feedback from you. Enjoy!

**wolverine** · March-23-11, 09:44 PM

I like driving videos, especially the night ones sped up to music. I've been thinking about attaching my iphone to my bike and recording my commute through downtown Chicago. Traffic at some places is at a standstill, so I have to pull some tight maneuvers [[though I still obey the law)

**Johnlodge** · March-24-11, 02:04 PM

Afsluitdijk

I can't believe that's a word and not a cat walking across the keyboard!

**Whitehouse** · March-24-11, 04:59 PM

Originally Posted by Johnlodge

I can't believe that's a word and not a cat walking across the keyboard!

Hahaha!!!

Right, second film.

Here I'm about to collide with a Boeing 747....

This is a crossing in the A5 motorway in the Netherlands. It's one of the newest motorways in the Dutch grid. At the moment it's not a very long stretch of asphalt, about 7 kilometers [[or about 4,5 miles.) But in 2012 this motorway will be extended to the A10 ring of Amsterdam.

Wikipedia.

Google maps.

Funny! I was only watching the videos before posting. Later I wore the headphone and listend to the radio. I think I'll keep it like it is with that background noise.

Last week a major event happened here. A watercrossing was completed with concrete girders. The biggest ones ever constructed in the Netherlands. These monsters were over 61 meters long [[about 63 yards). They were transported by road which made the trucks have a total length of about 70 meters!

Look at the back end of this combination. There's a man standing on top!

**maxx** · March-30-11, 03:10 AM

How often do roads get replaced in the Netherlands and what materials are used? Do you have any pix of the sea gates at Rotterdam? Aren't they designed for a significant rise in sea levels? I think the Brits are building a similar gate across the Thames.

**Whitehouse** · March-30-11, 02:39 PM

Originally Posted by maxx

How often do roads get replaced in the Netherlands and what materials are used? Do you have any pix of the sea gates at Rotterdam? Aren't they designed for a significant rise in sea levels? I think the Brits are building a similar gate across the Thames.

Lot of questions.

How often do roads get replaced in the Netherlands
Depends on the condition and the use of it. An intensively driven highway might be replaced in 8 years. But in other less densely populated areas it might take longer. Could be decades

and what materials are used?
Typically asphalt. And in most cases ZOAB [[Zeer Open Asfalt Beton) translated it means Very Open Asphalt Concrete. It has a very open structure which has some major advantages. When it rains you hardly see any spray coming off the tires of cars and trucks which gives you a great visibility, even in torrential rain. There are less accidents on roads paved with this asphalt. Another advantage is that sound is absorbed by it so less noise pollution also. There are some disadvantages also, The wear is greater than regular asphalt. Some water may be standing in the gaps so during winter when it freezes the ice expands and tends to break the asphalt. This results in some potholes. But most of the time a "crash-team" is standing by to repair the most severe spots temporarily and when winter has passed most of the damaged patches are repaired. Another disadvantage is that the breaking distance increases compared to regular asphalt. But the advantages trump the disadvantages soundly.

Structure of ZOAB.

ZOAB is used in that stretch of road above where I cross the taxi lane of Schiphol Airport. On the Afsluitdijk regular asphalt is used. This asphalt copes better with the salty air that's coming from the sea.

Do you have any pix of the sea gates at Rotterdam?
Funny you should say that. I was at the Rotterdam port this week but the batteries of my camera were dead. Sorry, I could have made some movie about the N15, which is the main artery to the Maasvlakte terminal. Rotterdam is the third busiest port on the planet. I'll make some clips of the sea barriers when I get there in the future. One of the most spectacular segments of the sea barrier is the Maasland kering. This is a two-part barrier that floats into the main sea entrance to the port of Rotterdam. Both segments are longer than, and weighs twice as much as the Eiffel tower. I've stood under one of those legs and it sure is a humbling experience!! The legs swing with the larges ball bearings in the world.

A working scale model

The real deal! [[Though I think the bang sound was edited...)

One of the ball joints.

Aren't they designed for a significant rise in sea levels?
Yes they are.

I think the Brits are building a similar gate across the Thames
No. That one is already working. It's called the Thames barrier. Though they made a study if the barrier was sufficient in the future.

If you want to know more about the flood controls in the Netherlands, here's a wikilink about the Delta works.The Asluitdijk was part of the Zuiderzee works.

Our crede:
God created the earth but the Dutch created the Netherlands.

**Lowell** · March-30-11, 10:02 PM

Very nice videos. How does such a tiny nation make such huge objects? I am pretty sure I have been on that dyke highway too. It was dramatic to see the wide blue sea on one side and the land so low on the other. Or to be on the low land and see a ship on the other side of the dyke so high above one.

I was thinking this week that the Japanese tsunami had to be a subject of interest to the Dutch. While such an event is highly unlikely I am guessing that the damage would have been far less in the Netherlands due the back up systems they have in place in the event of a major break.

**old guy** · March-31-11, 10:44 AM

Everything looks......really clean.

**Whitehouse** · March-31-11, 11:25 AM

Originally Posted by Lowell

Very nice videos. How does such a tiny nation make such huge objects? I am pretty sure I have been on that dyke highway too. It was dramatic to see the wide blue sea on one side and the land so low on the other. Or to be on the low land and see a ship on the other side of the dyke so high above one.

I was thinking this week that the Japanese tsunami had to be a subject of interest to the Dutch. While such an event is highly unlikely I am guessing that the damage would have been far less in the Netherlands due the back up systems they have in place in the event of a major break.

A major break helps. I mean, in finances. 51 years ago a major gas bubble was discovered in the north of the Netherlands. And we're still reaping the benefits of it. 12 years after the discovery all 18 coal shafts over here were closed. Coal could not compete with natural gas [[which caused a lot of unemployment in the south....) A lot of coal workers had to either retire or re-school. As a band-aid, albeit a very large one, the DSM chemical company was expanded. [[The name still has connection to it's mining past. The acronym stands for State Mines Service.) DSM is now one of the biggest chemical companies on the planet.

As said, the discovery of that gas bubble reaped a lot of revenue for the state treasure. And it still delivers.

And yes, we live low.... One of the best vistas to illustrate that fact is when you exit the Ketel Bridge, entering the North East Polder, the second biggest man-made island in the world. [[The biggest in the world is it's immidiate neighbour.)

I must say, in real life it's more convincing....

Google earth link. Pan around.

There's absolutely no chance in hell that the Netherlands will ever be hit by a tsunami. It's simply impossible. There's no fault line nearby and the soil is not rocky but clay. A freak hurricane is a reality. The Maeslant kering barrier has only closed for testing purposes. It has never closed in an event of high tide.

**Jimaz** · March-31-11, 11:44 AM

Originally Posted by Lowell

... Or to be on the low land and see a ship on the other side of the dyke so high above one....

I've experienced that in New Orleans too with large ships moving overhead through a canal. It's a spooky feeling.

**Whitehouse** · March-31-11, 11:49 AM

Originally Posted by Jimaz

I've experienced that in New Orleans too with large ships moving overhead through a canal. It's a spooky feeling.

I could be very smug here now and say "duh..."

**Whitehouse** · April-01-11, 12:56 PM

About that Afsluitdijk again....

In 2006 then Formula one driver Robert Doornbos was driving for the Red Bull team, the same team of current world champion Vettel. He was asked by his sponsor what would be his ultimate dream. He said it was planking across the Afsluitdijk, full speed straight as an arrow. He got his wish in 2006 and reached a speed of 326km/h or in yankee terms 202,5 miles an hour.

Notice, this is the same stretch of the dike I filmed. It was quite dangerous. Just imagine a seagull with a death wish on the road...

And now for some fresh footage:
One of my favorite bends in the Dutch highway system. Exiting the A5 from Hoofddorp, entering the Raasdorp junction in the direction of Haarlem. First you rise for the crossing of the A9, after that dipping to cross the future extension of the A5. With some speed you feel like you're in a fighter plane.

Just checked the stats of my clips. Wow! This one has over 2 million views!! WTF??!

**maxx** · April-01-11, 02:28 PM

On NPR's Science Friday today, they talked about the Netherlands' 100,000 year contingency plan. They also mentioned some cutbacks or rethinking of some policies. I don't remember the exact wording. Do you know what they are referring to?

http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/201104012

**Whitehouse** · April-01-11, 03:47 PM

Originally Posted by maxx

On NPR's Science Friday today, they talked about the Netherlands' 100,000 year contingency plan. They also mentioned some cutbacks or rethinking of some policies. I don't remember the exact wording. Do you know what they are referring to?

http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/201104012

Not the faintest idea. Currently a lot of work is being done on strenghtening the riverbanks. The lower part of the flow has some tidal working. Google streetview encountered this scene about two years ago. Let me tell you, in the meantime a lot of things have happened. Here are more pictures I found on the net.
This is a stretch of 10,8 kilometer of riverdike that was not at delta height. after these works are completed the land laying behind it, is guaranteed fifty ears safe. If you translate this page you get to know what's being done.

**Django** · April-02-11, 05:56 PM

**Jimaz** · April-02-11, 06:12 PM

Originally Posted by Django

I was wondering what relevance that had to the thread until I read the YouTube description. It said simply "Detroit road movie."

**Django** · April-02-11, 11:13 PM

This was my first attempt at editing my own video.

Originally Posted by Jimaz

I was wondering what relevance that had to the thread until I read the YouTube description. It said simply "Detroit road movie."

**Jimaz** · April-08-11, 10:14 PM

Originally Posted by Django

This was my first attempt at editing my own video.

Sincerely: Good job to stretch the viewer's imagination like that.

The Truth About Amsterdam, RE: Bill O'Reilly loves Amsterdam

Most people know that the Fox channel isn't the most objective news source on American TV. But in a pretty recent broadcast Amsterdam is so falsely portrayed as a city of crime, drugs and anarchy that I had to show the facts.

Follow and share in the discussion on http://www.truthaboutamsterdam.com

**Jimaz** · April-08-11, 11:00 PM

Amsterdam versus O'Reilly 2

The way they do the statistics in The Netherlands are different...

Oh, really?

"It's coming. It's coming. It's coming."

We should be that lucky: TruthAboutAmsterdam.com

**Whitehouse** · April-10-11, 03:16 PM

As I was travelling across the Afsluitdijk, I noticed the flags were up again, which means the tourist season has begun. This also means that the tower was open for visitors. There's no admission fee but the tower and there's a souvenir shop in the bottom of it. As luck would have it I had my Canon EOS 500 on board of my car and with that I shot 52 pictures, stitched them together and made this great panorama.

Bigger version.

As you all know normally this dike is as straight as an arrow. A large part of it you can drive with your eyes closed so to speak.

The tower. It's designed by Willem Marius Dudok, who also designed other marvalous buildings in the Netherlands, like Hilversum city hall.

**Whitehouse** · April-15-11, 12:10 PM

It's been a while since I did a proper update. This one is for Maxx. Two days ago I had a night shift, working on the A15 motorway, one of the major arteries of the city of Rotterdam. We were allowed to work in a window between 10PM and 5AM and I had some time to spare before work commenced. So I went to the Nieuwe Waterweg for one of the most spectacular pieces of the Delta works; The Maeslant Kering, mentioned above. It was already getting dark, excuse me for that.

First clip is the approach road to the barrier. And it's getting bigger and bigger the more I get closer.

Another view of the Maeslant kering going up to the sight seeing hill near one of the segments.

An overview of the whole complex.

One side of the sigment. That reflecting text below it is on the side of a full size container!

After a night's work I went home. I started to halucinate after being awake for more than 24 hours so I parked the car for a few hours. After I woke up I got the greatest of sunrises on the A6 motorway.

**Whitehouse** · May-05-11, 02:55 PM

Here it is again. The fifth of May edition.

Also chack out that blast from the past. Yes! That's a WW2 Harley Davidson Liberator followed by a Willy's Jeep!