HISTORY WAS made in Limerick at the weekend when 35,000 people walked under the river Shannon for the first time.
Thousands of people availed of the “once in a lifetime” opportunity on Saturday when pedestrians were invited to walk through the newly constructed Limerick tunnel, before it opens to traffic later this summer.
The open day was organised by tunnel builders Direct Route, and park and ride services were located at various points around the city to ferry visitors from early morning.
Organisers had expected a crowd of 20,000 but by 7pm some 35,000 people had walked through the tunnel.
The €660 million project is part of the Southern Ring Road Phase 2 development which connects the M7 Dublin and M20 Cork roads with the N18 to Galway and Shannon airport.
When opened to traffic it is expected to take 18,000 vehicles out of Limerick city centre daily with a projection of 40,000 motorists using the tunnel by 2020.
No official opening date has been set for motorists eager to use the new facility but Saturday was the first and last chance for pedestrians, cyclists, prams and even dogs to travel the 700 metres under the Shannon.
Denis Morgan from Ballinacurra Gardens in Limerick described the feeling of walking under the river as “beautiful”.
“It’s fantastic and a great achievement for Limerick. Great engineering went into it and it looks lovely and has put Limerick on the map again.”
Elaine Small from Rosbrien admitted to feeling a little nervous walking under the river. “I was a bit nervous going in but it was really good. It was just like walking along a normal road.”
According to Tom Meagher, the National Road Authority’s resident engineer on the project, Saturday’s glorious sunshine helped with the turnout.
“It’s great for people to come and see the project on what will be their one and only chance to walk through the tunnel and get a feel for what it is like,” he explained.
“The next time they go through the tunnel, they will be whizzing through it in 30 seconds.”