Work on Dublin Port Tunnel delays northside traffic

Commuters leaving early for work and a fine morning appear to have kept delays on the N1/M1 to a minimum yesterday as construction work got underway on the Dublin Port Tunnel.

Diversion routes, however, were described as a "bit of a nightmare" and a spokesman for the Garda Traffic Bureau said coming days "could throw up a whole new set of circumstances".

For the past number of weeks motorists were warned that, from 6 a.m. yesterday morning work would begin on the new port tunnel and that it would last for two years. Until late 2003 traffic on the N1/M1 would be reduced to one lane, in both directions, between Collins Avenue and the Coolock interchange.

From about 7.30 a.m. yesterday traffic was "building up on all of the diversion routes", according to Ms Emma Caulfield of AA Roadwatch.

The worst affected was the Malahide Road. "The traffic there was just going at a crawl. Delays were at least 15 minutes," she said.

Also badly-affected were the main roads through Coolock, Finglas, Fairview and Ballymun, but that there were "really big delays going out of town, at the Collins Avenue junction at Whitehall." Mr Chris Dorman, spokesman for Dublin Bus, said his colleagues indicated that problems had eased considerably by 8 a.m. "People seem to have come out early," he said "and left roads fairly clear by 8 o'clock."

He also said the fine weather helped keep things moving on the main N1/M1 route in particular. "So people leaving early, using other routes and the fine weather meant things flowed well. But people will drift back to their old patterns," he said.

A spokesman for the Garda Traffic Bureau at Dublin Castle said early indications were that "things weren't too bad".

"But it's a bit early. Mondays tend not to be the busiest day of the week and the next few days could throw up a whole new set of circumstances."

Dublin Bus has increased its capacity on the number 16 route which serves the area in and out of the city centre and is promising a bus every two to three minutes on the main route at peak times.

Local taxi firms said there were few problems yesterday, but that there was a sense people had left their cars at home.

"They might have been panicking," said one operator at Cabs 2000, in Swords.