The Minister for Transport is expected to confirm today that the Port Tunnel will remain at its current height. The announcement is expected to come as the tunnel boring machine breaks through the second tunnel at Whitehall in Santry, marking the end of the second 2.2 km tunnel drive, which started last year at Fairview Park.
According to Mr Tim Brick, Dublin City deputy engineer: "We are now looking forward to the tunnel opening within budget at the end of 2005."
In April the Minister of State for Transport, Dr Jim McDaid, told an Irish Road Haulage Association's (IRHA) conference that an EU proposal on the maximum height of trucks meant the tunnel's current height is more than adequate.
He told the conference that the maximum height set by the directive is likely to be four metres. In the existing design, the tunnel's clearance or operating height is 4.65 metres, which would be more than adequate.
In line with the EU proposal, Dr McDaid said yesterday that he was considering an outright ban on the larger "supercube trucks" in the next four to five years. He said the proposal would only impact on a small number of hauliers and they would be given plenty of warning.
"With the majority of tunnels on the continent at 4.65 metres what's the point of allowing these huge 'supertrucks'. The fact is that these trucks are getting taller, not wider, and as such we will soon be faced with safety issues and the risk of trucks tipping over." He said any policy change would be fully discussed fully with the IRHA.
The Minister's proposals have been criticised by road hauliers in Britain and Northern Ireland.
According to Robert King, chief executive of the Road Haulage Association in Britain: "We know of many operators committed to the use of vehicles with a height of 4.8 metres and engaged in UK-Ireland traffic.
"It is surely not acceptable for any member of state within the EU to arbitrarily introduce a change that will materially affect the viability of these businesses."
As to the height of the Port Tunnel, Dr McDaid said last April that there was an urgent need for the tunnel to begin generating revenue.
Road haulage associations and transport groups like the Transport Umbrella Group (TUG) have been calling for an increase in the clearance height to 4.9 metres or more in order to accommodate "supercube" trucks.
The Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, had asked contractors building the tunnel to give him a legally binding agreement on the cost and the delay involved in raising the tunnel's clearance height.
The request was made after the Minister rejected options offered by consultants Atkins as "too broad". These ranged from a minimum cost of €20 million to a maximum of €120 million, while the delays ranged from one to five months.
Such a broad spectrum was unacceptable to the Minister, who then asked the contractors to assess the cost and time needed to raise the clearance height to 4.9 metres.