De Graafschapbode, 15 March 1939
A traffic improvement of great importance in the near future.
A large number of unemployed men are currently engaged, as part of a public works employment scheme, in constructing the earthworks for widening the Aalten–Bredevoort road. Anyone at all familiar with the heavy traffic using this road each day will know that the improvement soon to be achieved by widening it is both highly necessary and of great importance.
From the point of view of local traffic alone, it is very welcome that a better connection between Aalten and Bredevoort, two places within the same municipality, will be created in the foreseeable future. The benefit to traffic in general, however, is undoubtedly even greater.
The section of road to be widened is approximately 1,432 metres long. According to the estimate by the Nederlandsche Heidemaatschappij, the construction of the earthworks will cost ƒ14,000 in wages and related expenses, while the additional costs will likewise amount to ƒ14,000. The latter figure includes the purchase price of the land required, compensation for damage and loss of crops, and costs arising from other conditions imposed by various sellers.
The road is to be widened from the Ringweg in Aalten to the Koppelbrug in Bredevoort. Ninety per cent of the cost of privately negotiated land purchases and exchanges will be covered by a subsidy from the Provincial Roads Fund, while a central-government subsidy will be provided for constructing the earthworks.
The trees formerly belonging to the woods and farmland of the ’t Walfort estate, owned by Baron van Pallandt van Walfort, have already been felled, and work is currently under way to level the earthworks. Naturally, the tram line of the Geldersch-Westfaalsche Tramweg-Maatschappij, which runs alongside the road for its entire length, will have to be moved, as it would otherwise form a major obstacle. The accompanying photograph clearly shows how substantial the widening will eventually be.