Dublin Port Tunnel opens despite last-minute glitch

OVER budget, over deadline but with not a leak in sight, the Dublin Port Tunnel (DPT) was finally opened yesterday with the promise of dramatically alleviating traffic congestion in the city.

The biggest infrastructural project in the history of the State faced one further delay as the 4.5km twin tunnels were not formally accessible to regular traffic until mid-afternoon — several hours after its planned opening.

There was also a temporary glitch when an important safety feature of the new tunnel failed to work.

Dublin City Council had boasted that special news flashes can be used to interrupt radio broadcasts and alert users of the tunnel of any potential danger or accident.

However, radio signals could not be received in the tunnel by VIPs and other guests who were allowed to drive through the DPT before its formal opening.

A Dublin City Council spokesperson confirmed later that a signal booster system had accidentally been switched off.

But Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, who performed the official opening ceremony, along with several other speakers, used the occasion to hit out at critics of the €751 million project.

He recalled that many people believed the DPT was just “the latest in the long line of ambitious plans which would simply gather dust on the shelves”.

“We had the same thing with O’Connell Street, Croke Park, the Luas and then the Port Tunnel,” he added.

“I would like if a few of them were around so I could tell them how wrong they were,” remarked the Taoiseach.

Mr Ahern said the tunnel would dramatically improve the ability of goods to be moved in an out of Dublin Port as well as reduce traffic on inner city roads.

The twin tunnels are expected to remove around 6,300 large vehicles from the city centre each day.

All large commercial vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, buses with more than 25 seats and vehicles adapted for physically disabled drivers, will be able to use the tunnel toll-free.

Other motorists will be charged prices ranging from €3 during off-peak periods — 10pm to 6am — to €12 at peak times to use the DPT.

It is estimated 2,500 vehicles will pay to use the facility each day.

However, the DPT operators said there would be no problems of congestion in the tunnel as it has a daily capacity of 22,000 vehicles.

From February 19 next, Dublin City Council will introduce a ban on heavy goods vehicles using the city centre with delivery vans and trucks requiring a permit for access between 7am and 7pm.

The chairman of the National Roads Authority, Peter Malone, said the DPT was another fine example of the country’s rapidly improving road infrastructure which would see Dublin linked entirely by motorway or dual carriageway with Cork, Waterford, Ennis, Galway and the Border by 2010.

Dublin City Council also dismissed concerns voiced about the potential for traffic chaos caused by lorries having to cross busy lanes within 1km in order to access the M50 after exiting the tunnel at Whitehall.

The Irish Road Haulage Association welcomed the opening of the DPT but still expressed concern about its potential negative impact on the already congested M50.