Port Tunnel machine to break through tomorrow

Dublin City Council and the National Roads Authority have announced the Dublin Port Tunnel will reach a major milestone tomorrow with the breakthrough of the Tunnel Boring Machine at Whitehall.

The Minister for Transport, Seamus Brennan, will attend the break through.

"This marks the end of the second 2.2km tunnel drive, which started last year at Fairview Park. The completion of the second tube marks a significant engineering achievement in this nationally important project." said Tim Brick, Dublin City Deputy Engineer.

"We are now looking forward to the tunnel opening, within budget at the end of 2005."

The Dublin Port Tunnel is a flagship project of the Department of Transport, under the National Development Plan. The project's overall cost estimate is €715m and is scheduled for completion in late 2005.

When opened it will remove the bulk of Dublin Port's HGV traffic, estimated at 9000 lorry journeys per day from the city's streets.