All new, non-emergency roadworks on key routes in Dublin have been postponed from today until the middle of January to ease traffic congestion.
Extra gardai have also been drafted into the city for Operation Freeflow, which aims to manage the city's traffic for Christmas.
An Assistant Garda Commissioner, Mr Jim McHugh, yesterday launched the sixth successive multi-agency operation. Attention will focus on 28 traffic arteries in the capital and 43 areas identified as congestion "blackspots".
Mr McHugh said gardai also intended to exercise tight control over illegal parking.
Some 128 gardai have arrived from the Garda Training College in Templemore, Co Tipperary, and will be deployed to stations around the city. Operation Freeflow has been assigned 206 Garda foot patrols, 48 motorbikes, 10 patrol cars and two tow trucks. The Garda helicopter will also be used.
Mr Owen Keegan, director of traffic, Dublin Corporation, called on people to use public transport if possible. "If you take the car into town, be sure to park legally. We don't want to clamp motorists or tow cars away but our priority will be to keep traffic moving at this very busy time."
A freephone number - 1800 293949 - has been set up to allow the public to report traffic incidents in the city from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Friday and during weekends.