Port Tunnel to open on December 20th

Dublin City Council confirmed this morning the city's port tunnel is to open on December 20th.

The tunnel, built at a cost of €752 million, is 4.5 kilometres long and is designed to take heavy goods vehicles between the city's port and Whitehall, north of the city. From here, vehicles can access the key M1 and M50 roads.

The journey will take about 10 minutes.

The council says the majority of approximately 9,000 heavy goods vehicles will be taken out of the city by the tunnel.

The tunnel will be toll-free for heavy goods vehicles and coaches over 25 seats. All

other vehicles, including cars, taxis, motorcycles and light commercial vehicles, less than 3.5 tonnes, will be tolled.

Tolls will be between €3 and €12 depending on the time of the day and day of the week. The revenues received from toll charges will go toward the operational cost of the tunnel, with any surplus reverting to the State.

Planning for the Dublin Port Tunnel started approximately ten years prior to commencement of construction. It was part of the Dublin Transportation Initiative in 1993. Its completion is more than two years behind schedule.

Tim Brick, Project Engineer with Dublin City Council said 5,000 construction and engineering staff worked 7.5 million man-hours on the tunnel.

It is the largest single piece of infrastructure in the history of the State, the longest road tunnel in an urban area in Europe but has been dogged by controversies since its inception. Residents living above the route complained of structural damage to their homes from the massive boring machines.

Leaks plagued the final months of construction and hauliers have objected to the design, insisting supertrucks, nearly 5m (16ft) high, would effectively be banned from Irish roads as they cannot use the tunnel or city centre roads. The tunnels are 4.9m high with an operating height of 4.65m (15ft).

It is higher than the Boston Big Dig at 4.45m, Sydney's A6 at 4.5m and Madrid's Calle 30, also at 4.5m. Over 98% of trucks leaving the port will be able to use the tunnel. Much of the route is between 21 and 23 metres (75ft), or seven storeys, below ground level, and dedicated fire crews will be on hand to respond to emergencies.

The council's HGV strategy to take large trucks off Dublin city streets will be introduced approximately two months after the tunnel opens.

Under the strategy all HGVs with 5 axles or more, exiting the port, must use the tunnel to access the State's national road network.

A 200-strong firefighting team spent several weeks training with specialists in Switzerland to prepare them for accidents. Sixteen jet fans run the ventilation system and are capable of changing the air within minutes.

The Progressive Democrats recently published a plan, backed by the Taoiseach, that would see the phased moving of Dublin port to a location north of the capital and the development of prime lands in thec current location.

Under such a scenario the tunnel would be used by residents and workers in the redeveloped area. The proposed moving of Dublin port, however, is still not Government policy.

Speaking today, the Progressive Democrats transport spokesman Tom Morrissey said: "We see the tunnel evolving to be used by residents of this vibrant new waterfront community.

"There will be commuters driving private cars, but there will also be large numbers of buses running through the tunnel and servicing large park-and-ride facilities at each end," he said.