Nearly 2,000 car drivers are using Dublin's port tunnel every day as a quick route into and out of the capital, figures released by the National Roads Authority (NRA) show.
The data obtained by The Irish Timesshows approximately 2,000 cars are using the tunnel between 5am and 11pm each day and, according to the NRA, that figure is "growing daily". The tunnel remains closed outside of these hours while final work is completed.
The NRA figures are far in excess of estimates quoted in the media earlier this week.
While trucks, large buses and vehicles adapted for physically disabled drivers can use the tunnel free of charge, other motorists must pay up to €12 per trip on the 5.6km route.
The price was set at a high level to deter drivers using the tunnel as a "rat run" to avoid congestion during peak hours.
It costs €12 for cars, motorcycles, vans and light commercial vehicles of 3.5 tonnes and under and travelling south into the city during the morning rush hour between 6am and 10am.
The same charge applies for those vehicles travelling north during the evening rush hour between 4pm and 7pm. Outside these hours and at weekends the cost is either €3 or €6.
The tunnel route, which opened in December at a cost of €751 million, was only opened to cars, vans and motorcycles last Sunday week, January 28th.
A National Roads Authority spokeswoman said: "The cars are not having any negative impact on the port traffic. There have been no crashes.
"About 6,000 HGVs use the tunnel each day. The traffic numbers are increasing daily also and will increase further when the city HGV strategy kicks in on February 19th next," she added.
This strategy will require trucks using the city centre to apply for a permit before doing so, effectively banning port traffic from the capital's streets.
So-called super cube trucks that are too large for the port tunnel will be issued with special permits to use an approved route out of the city.
Jimmy Quinn of the Irish Road Hauliers Association (IRHA) said the arrival of cars in the tunnel was not causing any problems for truckers. "There's plenty of room for everybody. We have no complaints about it at all."
He said the toll of €12 was doing its job so far. "Nobody wanted it to turn into another rat run for cars. We're up to about 6,000 trucks using the tunnel every day and that's a victory for all concerned."
But he warned of impending chaos when the HGV strategy is put in place on February 19th. "All stakeholders agree . . . that the notion of allowing the entire port output on to the M50 is bananas," he added.
Phase one of the M50 upgrade, the widening of the western section of the motorway to three lanes, will be completed later this year, ahead of its original 2008 deadline. However phases two and three are expected to start in 2007.
