Leidsche Rijn (, Utrecht dialect: ) is a new construction site and neighborhood in Utrecht, the capital of the Dutch province of Utrecht. The area is located west of the Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal and its name is derived from the Leidse Rijn canal, which runs through it. At the time of its inception in the 1990s and in the decades that followed, Leidsche Rijn was the largest Vinex location in the Netherlands. Most of this location was on the territory of the former municipality of Vleuten-De Meern, located west of the city of Utrecht. A smaller part of this location, namely the area of Hoge and Lage Weide, was located in the municipality of Utrecht. Vleuten-De Meern was added to the municipality of Utrecht on January 1, 2001. The intended size of the Vinex location was about 30,000 houses for about 90,000 inhabitants. The Utrecht City Council decided to divide it into two districts, namely the Vleuten-De Meern district and the Leidsche Rijn district. Despite this division, the aforementioned neighborhoods are the largest in the municipality of Utrecht in terms of population with approximately 50,000 and 45,000 inhabitants, respectively. During construction several archeological remains were discovered. In 1997 and in 2003 Roman ships were discovered in the neighbourhood of De Balije. In 2002 and 2003 Roman watchtowers were discovered in the neighbourhoods of Vleuterweide and Het Zand. The area, including the Rijnenburg polder area, is about 25 km². Originally, 30,000 houses for about 90,000 inhabitants were planned. This included the approximately 6,000 existing homes in the villages of De Meern, Vleuten and Haarzuilens. By the end of 2019, the target number of 90,000 inhabitants was passed. On January 1, 2022, the two districts together numbered over 95,000 residents, of whom about 45,000 lived in the Leidsche Rijn district. The biggest milestones in the development of Leidsche Rijn were, successively, the first pile driven on December 4, 1997 by then Prime Minister Wim Kok. The completion of the first homes with the first handover of keys was on October 14, 1998. The official start of the major infrastructure works for Leidsche Rijn such as the relocation, widening and covering of the A2 motorway and the raising and doubling of the Utrecht-Woerden railroad line (to four tracks) on April 12, 2005 by then Minister Karla Peijs of Transport, Public Works and Water Management was another milestone. Because after the relocation and covering of the