The Maliebaan, the broad tree-lined avenue on the eastern edge of Utrecht's city centre, is in the middle of a rebuild that will change how people move along it. According to the gemeente's project page, the work is now expected to be completed in 2027, later than first planned.

What is changing

The core of the design is simple. The middle lane becomes a car-free path for cyclists and pedestrians, while cars use the narrower side streets (known in Dutch as ventwegen) next to the buildings. The gemeente says it is making these streets narrower "so that cars drive less fast". Diagonal parking along the side streets stays as it is.

At the crossing with the Nachtegaalstraat and Burgemeester Reigerstraat, the traffic lights are to disappear. The gemeente says traffic on those two streets gets priority, and that this applies to cars, buses and cyclists alike. Crossing islands there are planned to carry trees that connect to the existing rows of trees along the Maliebaan.

The project also includes a new sewer system with a separate pipe for rainwater. The gemeente frames the whole scheme as giving priority to clean forms of transport, safer streets and better use of scarce public space.

Why it is taking longer

The gemeente says it needs more time because of "unforeseen circumstances, such as archaeological finds and unexpected cables and pipes in the ground". The project page does not give a cost figure, so this piece does not report one.

What happens next

The gemeente's planning, as published on its project page, runs as follows:

- **September to October 2026:** work on the side street with odd house numbers between the crossing and the Snellenlaan, including new paving and layout. - **September to November 2026:** work on the side street with even house numbers, including the new sewer with separate rainwater drainage. - **November 2026:** the odd-numbered side street is scheduled to be finished. - **2027:** the remaining work, including finishing the paving of the even-numbered side street, the roundabout at the Snellenlaan, the top layer of the middle lane, footpath repairs, the Nachtegaalstraat and Burgemeester Reigerstraat crossing, and the planting of new trees.

The page lists several milestones already reached. The new sewer for the odd-numbered side street was completed in July 2026, and in June 2025 the sewer in the 1e Korte Baanstraat was replaced and the Wolter Heukelslaan was narrowed near the Museumlaan. It also says the crossing with the Nachtegaalstraat and Burgemeester Reigerstraat was adjusted in October 2025, while listing further work on that crossing for 2027.

What residents and visitors should know

Detours and day-to-day disruption are reported through the BouwApp page for the project, which the gemeente links from its Maliebaan page. Dates on the project page can change as the work progresses, so anyone planning around the street, whether they live there, cycle through or visit the nearby museums, should check the current planning.

For English-speaking residents, the practical picture is this: the finished Maliebaan will be a calmer street with a dedicated car-free route down the middle, but the remaining work, including the new trees, will continue into 2027.