Many bridges, tunnels, locks, and viaducts date back to the 1950s and 1960s. Over the years, they have been subjected to intensive use by ever-increasing and heavier traffic. This increases the risk of malfunctions, making it time to renovate them. This also means traffic disruptions in the coming years. How do you plan the work so that road users experience minimal disruption? It’s a complex puzzle.

One of the puzzle pieces is recording learning experiences from the first renovation projects and transferring them to subsequent projects in such a way that lessons learned are actually applied. For this assignment, we used narrative-based learning. Using the learning history method, stories about the Heinenoord Tunnel renovation were collected from various perspectives: from the project manager, technical manager, or test and environmental manager to the tunnel operator, safety officer, and contractor. Each perspective revealed positive and negative points. By combining all the stories, a complete picture emerged: what went well, what could be improved, what absolutely needed to change, and who and what was needed for that change. It also fostered greater mutual understanding of each other’s challenges and solutions. During two reflection sessions, the stories were shared with the Rijkswaterstaat employees involved and supplemented to create a complete “learning story.”