THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Farmers driving tractors blocked highways in the Netherlands on Monday in the latest protest sparked by a government pledge to rein in pollution emissions, a move that will hit the country’s agriculture sector.
Authorities urged motorists to check traffic updates before setting off, amid the protests that follow a gathering last week of tens of thousands of farmers in the central Netherlands that also caused traffic chaos around the country.
“We advise road users to be extra alert,” the government’s road and water department said in a statement. At least three highways were affected by the protests.
Local broadcaster Omroep Brabant showed a truck dumping large, plastic-covered bales of hay on a highway near the town of Liessel, some 150 kilometers (93 miles) southeast of the capital, Amsterdam. On at least two more highways, farmers drove or parked their tractors, snarling traffic.