The Waaltje (common name; Dutch for Little Waal) is a dammed river in the western Netherlands, southeast of Rotterdam. Historically it used to be the western end of the Waal river, hence its official name continues to be Waal, although the intermediate Waal sections, Boven Merwede, Beneden Merwede, and a subsection of the Noord, have long changed their names. The Waaltje is crossed by a highway, the A16, the railway between Rotterdam and Dordrecht, the HSL and the Betuweroute. The A15 runs between the A16 and the Noord to the north of the Waaltje.