Port Tunnel height not to change

The Dublin Port Tunnel is likely to remain at its current height, according to the Minister of State for Transport, Dr Jim McDaid…

The Dublin Port Tunnel is likely to remain at its current height, according to the Minister of State for Transport, Dr Jim McDaid.

Speaking at the Irish Road Haulage Association's (IRHA) annual conference at the weekend, the Minister said an EU proposal on the maximum height of trucks would mean the tunnel's current height will be more than adequate.

There was an urgent need for the tunnel to begin generating revenue, said Dr McDaid. He told road hauliers that the maximum height set by the directive is likely to be four metres. In the existing design the tunnel's clearance or operating height is 4.65 metres.

The IRHA chairman, Mr Jimmy Quinn yesterday described any decision to leave the tunnel unchanged as a "fundamental error" and said the EU directive was "misguided".

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Road haulage associations and transport groups like the Transport Umbrella Group (TUG) have been campaigning for an increase in the clearance height to 4.9 metres or more in order to accommodate larger "supercube" trucks.

Dr McDaid said that reports from independent consultants and the National Roads Authority (NRA) on the additional costs and time delays together with other facts that would be associated with various options to increase the tunnel's height are being examined by the Department and a final decision is imminent.

However, he said it's now likely that the tunnel will go-ahead at the current height.

The EU directive on truck height is only at the consultation stage and will not be implemented until a full public consultation process has been undertaken.

The Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, had asked contractors building the tunnel to give him a legally binding agreement on the cost and the delay involved in raising the tunnel's clearance height.

The request was made after the Minister rejected options offered by consultants Atkins as "too broad". He said the options ranged from a minimum cost of €20 million to a maximum of €120 million, while the delays ranged from one to five months.

Such a broad spectrum was unacceptable to the Minister who then asked the contractors to assess the cost and time needed to raise the clearance height from 4.65 to 4.9 metres.