THE Dublin Port tunnel public consultation process "is being undermined by a lack of transparency in releasing important information", according to a Trinity College Dublin academic.
Dr Adrian Phillips, professor of geology, said he had been told by a Dublin Corporation planner that the geological cross sections of the tunnel route under Marino were "so sensitive that they can't be made publicly available".
Addressing an Earthwatch public meeting on the £130 million project, he also said its cost benefit analysis was "out of date and seriously flawed" as it took no account of some 138 juggernauts per day diverted to Dublin Port from Dun Laoghaire.
Dr Phillips said the Channel Tunnel scheme, which cost four times more than the original estimate, underlined the difficulties with tunnelling and the likelihood that there would be "very large cost over runs on the Dublin Port Tunnel project.
He also pointed out that there was a "major fault zone" running across the Fairview end of the chosen route. The earlier option of an east west tunnel, as proposed by National Toll Roads plc, had "more attractive" geological conditions and was also shorter.
If any of the five options, other than the route favoured by the port tunnel designers, was chosen by the city council, he said it would require a new environmental impact study, which should also look at other alternatives, such as an east west tunnel.
Dr Phillips described the proposed north south port access route as "peculiar and eccentric" unless it was the first phase of an Eastern Bypass motorway. But with EU funds running out, he feared this would be cheaply done, by running across Sandymount Strand.
Prof Simon Perry, of TCD's school of engineering, said there was not sufficient information available to judge whether the scheme now proposed was the right solution. He also favoured re examining other options, such as a dedicated truckway along the Royal Canal.
He warned that there would be major traffic congestion in the North Wall and East Wall areas because of the volumes of traffic exiting from the port tunnel, but" said this was "not being considered" in the current debate.
