THE IBEC Transport Council yesterday urged Dublin City councillors to support the proposed Dublin Port Tunnel project at their meeting next Monday.
"Failure to complete the Dublin Port Tunnel on time will affect the competitiveness of industry throughout the island," it said in a statement.
The business group said it was concerned that a failure to proceed with the tunnel could delay the effective implementation of other measures proposed in the Dublin Transport Initiative.
It said the tunnel was "the single most important piece of national transport infrastructure planned for construction within the last decade".
Opposition to the tunnel project is also seeking support at Monday's meeting of Dublin City Council. The Marino Development Action Group, which also issued a statement yesterday, will be asking councillors to "reject totally" the motion for the proposed Dublin Port Tunnel (A6 Route).
The group believes that a viable and mutually acceptable port only access route should be designed and constructed without imposing the limitations of motorways. It claims a dedicated port access route is needed and that planners should begin work immediately to identify a route with a minimum impact on residential areas and under non residential lands if tunnelled.
Another group, the Dublin Transportation Office (DTO), said in a statement yesterday that there have already been delays in the progress of the Dublin City Development Plan. It called for the consultation phase to proceed urgently because of the importance of a port tunnel to the Dublin Transportation Initiative strategy.
"Without the development of the port tunnel it simply will not be possible to achieve the objectives of the strategy outlined in the Dublin Transportation Initiative," said Mr John Mahony, chairman of the Dublin Transportation Office steering committee.
"The port tunnel is only one of the measures within the strategy but it is so fundamental to the overall plan that unless the project is commissioned at the earliest opportunity, the achievement of strategic objectives will be placed in jeopardy," he said.