Dublin Port Tunnel Construction, 2004

December 2006, southbound entrance

The Dublin Port Tunnel (Tollán Calafoirt Bhaile Átha Cliath in Irish) is a road traffic tunnel in Dublin, Ireland, that forms part of the M50 motorway. It is the second-longest urban motorway tunnel in Europe after Södra Länken in Stockholm, Sweden.^[1][2] . However by European standards, it would not be considered a long road tunnel, being dwarfed by many other European road tunnels such as the Lærdal Tunnel in Norway (24.5 km), the St Gotthard Road Tunnel in Switzerland (16.4 km), the Mont Blanc Tunnel in France (11.6 km) and the Westerschelde Tunnel in The Netherlands (6.6km). Download high resolution version (864x635, 207 KB)This is an image I took myself using an Olympus C8080W digital camera. ... Download high resolution version (864x635, 207 KB)This is an image I took myself using an Olympus C8080W digital camera. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2592x1944, 1419 KB) M50 Port Tunnel entrance southbound. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2592x1944, 1419 KB) M50 Port Tunnel entrance southbound. ... A disused railway tunnel now converted to pedestrian and bicycle use, near Houyet, Belgium A tunnel is an underground passage. ... The Spire at night WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: , Statistics Province: Leinster County: Dáil Éireann: Dublin Central, Dublin North Central, Dublin North East, Dublin North West, Dublin South Central, Dublin South East European Parliament: Dublin Dialling Code: 01, +353 1 Postal District(s): D1-24, D6W Area: 114. ... The M50 motorway is a motorway and National Primary Route in the Republic of Ireland running in a C-shaped ring around the northern, western and southern sides of the capital city, Dublin. ... Sodra Lanken is a recently-built road, connecting European highways E4 and E20 just southwest of Stockholm with highway 222 east of Stockholm. ... Nickname: Location of Stockholm in northern Europe Coordinates: Country Sweden Municipality Stockholm Municipality County Stockholm Province Södermanland and Uppland Charter 13th Century Population (April 2007)  - City 782,885  - Density 4,160/km² (10,774. ... One of three caves within the 24. ... Sculpture in France at the tunnels northwestern exit. ...

The twin tunnels form a two-lane dual carriageway connecting Dublin Port, which lies to the east of central Dublin, and the M1 motorway close to Dublin Airport. The tunnels are 4.5 km (2.8 miles) in length and total project length of 5.6 km (3.5 miles). It had final cost of approximately €752 million. Dublin Port (Irish: Calafort Bhaile Átha Cliath) is Irelands biggest sea port. ... The Spire at night WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: , Statistics Province: Leinster County: Dáil Éireann: Dublin Central, Dublin North Central, Dublin North East, Dublin North West, Dublin South Central, Dublin South East European Parliament: Dublin Dialling Code: 01, +353 1 Postal District(s): D1-24, D6W Area: 114. ... The Boyne River Bridge, one of the main engineering features of the M1 in Ireland, crosses the River Boyne west of Drogheda. ... Dublin Airport (IATA: DUB, ICAO: EIDW), or Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath in Irish, is operated by the Dublin Airport Authority plc. ... “EUR” redirects here. ...

The tunnel was officially opened on 20 December 2006 by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, TD, however it was initially only open to HGVs.^[3] It was opened to all traffic on 28 January 2007.^[4] December 20 is the 354th day of the year (355th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... The Taoiseach (IPA: or ) — plural: Taoisigh ( or ), also referred to as An Taoiseach[1], is the head of government of Ireland or prime minister. ... Patrick Bartholomew Bertie Ahern (Irish: ; born 12 September 1951) is an Irish politician who, since 26 June 1997, has served as the tenth Taoiseach. ... A Teachta Dála (Irish for Dáil Deputy, pronounced chock-ta dawla) is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower chamber of the Irish Oireachtas or National Parliament. ... Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) is a generic and formal designation in British English for classification of large road vehicles intended to carry goods. ... January 28 is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

Purpose

The tunnel relieves surface road congestion in Dublin city centre by diverting heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) from Dublin Port directly onto the motorway network. This has positive knock-on effects for bus users, pedestrians and cyclists travelling along the city quays, including better air quality and safer travel. Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) is a generic and formal designation in British English for classification of large road vehicles intended to carry goods. ...

To discourage commuters from using the tunnel, vehicles other than HGVs are heavily tolled. HGVs travelling north and west benefit from the expected six minute journey time through the tunnel. A tunnel was chosen as it was decided that a surface relief road was not feasible.

The Dublin Bus Route 142 uses the tunnel to get to the port area of the city from the northern suburbs. Dublin Bus (Irish: Bus Átha Cliath) is a public transport operator in the Republic of Ireland. ...

Longer distance buses from Belfast, Derry and Letterkenny occasionally use the route as an alternative to the heavily congested surface roads. WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ... Londonderry redirects here. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: , Irish Grid Reference C167188 Statistics Province: Ulster County: Dáil Éireann: Donegal North East Dialling Code: 074, +000 353 74 Area: 307. ...

Port tunnel project

The tunnel was first suggested in the 1990s after a number of transportation and engineering studies and was included in the Dublin City Development Plan 1999 – 2005. The project was approved following a public inquiry in 1999.

The tunnel forms part of the National Development Plan and funds have been provided under this plan to the National Roads Authority by the Department of Transport. The contract is managed by Dublin City Council and supervised by Brown & Root, a unit of Halliburton. The main contractor is a Japanese-British-Irish consortium Nishimatsu Mowlem Irishenco¹ (NMI), appointed in 2000. The National Development Plan was created to develop Irelands infrastructure to help invest the rewards from the economic success of the Celtic Tiger National Development Plan (NDP) is the title given by the Irish Government to a scheme of organised large-scale expenditure on (mainly) national infrastructure. ... The National Roads Authority (NRA) (Irish: An tÚdarás um Bóithre Náisiúnta) is a State body in the Republic of Ireland, responsible for the national road network. ... The Department of Transport (An Roinn Iompair) is the government department of the Irish government that is responsible for providing transport services and infrastructure in Ireland. ... Dublin City Council (Comhairle Cathrach Bhaile Átha Cliath in Irish) refers to two different entities. ... KBR (formerly Kellogg Brown and Root) NYSE: KBR is an American engineering and construction company, formerly a subsidiary of Halliburton, based in Houston. ... Halliburton Energy Services (NYSE: HAL) is a multinational corporation with operations in over 120 countries. ... Mowlem is one of the UKs largest construction and engineering companies. ...

The tender price for construction of the tunnel was €450 million. The final project cost was brought to €752 million by land acquisition, design, insurance, legal and other services, plus supervision by Brown & Root.

Construction commenced in June 2001 and the tunnel was originally due to open in 2005 after an elapsed time of 43 months. Dublin City Council had confirmed (15 November 2006) that the Port Tunnel was to open on 20 December 2006, giving an elapsed time of 66 months. is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... December 20 is the 354th day of the year (355th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

One reason for the project extension was to allay residents’ noise concerns. Under some areas such as Griffith Avenue and the Cloisters, boring was restricted to 16 hours per day. Under Annadale Crescent it was reduced to 13 hours.

Tunnel specifications

Interior of the port tunnel

*Length: 4.5 km (2.8 miles) - total project 5.6 km (3.5 miles) Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 473 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photograph of interior of the Dublin Port Tunnel. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 473 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photograph of interior of the Dublin Port Tunnel. ...

• Bores: 2
• Bore width: 11.77 m (37 ft)
• Lane width (two per bore): 3.65 m (11 ft)
• Shoulder width (two per bore): 1 m (3 ft)
• Bore height: 4.9 m (16 ft)
• Operating height: 4.65 m (15 ft)
• Lowest point: -30 m (-95 ft) at Marino

Tunnel design

The tunnel is built in five distinct sections: two “cut and cover” sections, two bored sections, one through open-clay and one through hard limestone and a specialised pipe-jacked section under the Dublin-Belfast railway line.

Cut and cover

The “cut and cover” sections at both ends featured excavations as deep as 12 m into which horseshoe-shaped sections of cast concrete were dropped and backfilled. The southern section, at Fairview, is 500 m long while the northern cut and cover channel from Whitehall Church to Shantalla extends over 1500 m. This work was undertaken by the Mowlem and Irishenco units of the consortium. Fairview (Irish Fionn Radharc) is a district on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. ... Mowlem is one of the UKs largest construction and engineering companies. ...

Tunnel boring

Both bored sections were initiated from a shaft 33 m deep and 57 m in diameter created at Collins Avenue by Mowlem in a joint venture with Intrafor of France. From here, the Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM), managed by Nishimatsu, were sent north through open clay and south through hard limestone. As is traditional, both machines were named after women – Meghan for 650 m of open clay and Grainne for 2,600 m of limestone. A tunnel boring machine that was used at Yucca Mountain. ...

TBM-1 “Grainne” headed south, passing under Griffith Avenue, Marino and Fairview. It was then dismantled, turned around and used to bore a second tunnel for the southbound carriageway. The machine, designed by Herrenknecht of Germany, was 156 m long, 12 m in diameter and was delivered to Dublin port in 105 parts carried by three ships, taking one week to unload. Combined, these bores resulted in the removal of 500,000 m³ of rock. Marino (postcode 5049) is a suburb in the south of Adelaide, South Australia. ...

A similar process was followed northwards by the 60 m long TBM-2 “Meghan” boring from Collins Avenue to Whitehall Church, first creating the southbound carriageway.

The bores were completed with breakthrough into the reception shaft on 18 November 2003 and 18 August 2004 for clay and rock, respectively. Much of the bored sections are 21-23 m below the surface, with the lowest point at Marino, towards the southern end, a point that also hosts the tunnel's drainage sump. is the 322nd day of the year (323rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 230th day of the year (231st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Pipe jacking

A particular challenge was faced near the southern portals where the tunnel passes under the Dublin to Belfast railway, a line that also carries suburban and commuter services. The railway was constructed on an elevated embankment made up of soft materials resting on alluvial deposits of sand and silt. Because the railway had to remain operational at all times, the cut and cover approach could not be used. Nishimatsu constructed a pipe-jacked supporting structure for the railway 3.5 m below the surface. The tunnel was then constructed in the supported space using horse-shoe sections and backfilled.

This 60 m section took 24 months to complete and resulted in the adjoining Alfie Byrne road being raised by 1.5 m. It also resulted in one incident of subsidence that closed the railway for three hours. This closure cost the contractor €300,000 in penalties - €100,000 per hour. Alfie Byrne (1882 - 1956) was an Irish Independent politician. ...

Other works

A new entrance and exit for the Dublin port was constructed including a new bridge over the Tolka river that connects to the toll plaza and southern portals. A new junction and underpass facilitates traffic from the East Wall Road towards the tunnel.

Southbound traffic approaching the tunnel on the M1 can utilise two tunnel-bound lanes or two surface lanes that continue the M1 toward Whitehall. Traffic emerging at the southern portal approaches the toll plaza outside the port.

Tunnel operation

Following a tender process in 2005, the NRA selected Transroute International, part of France’s Groupe Egis, to operate the tunnel for a period of five years with an optional renewal of two years. The service contract provides for operation, maintenance, safety, traffic management and toll collection. A new subsidiary, Transroute Tunnel Operations Ireland Ltd, has been set-up for the purpose. Tunnel operations, including tolling, employ between 50 and 60 people. The service contract is worth €15 million to Transroute over the five-year period.

Elsewhere, Egis was also selected to provide a central system to enable interoperability between different electronic toll collection systems in Ireland.

Tolling

A toll plaza operates from the southern tunnel control building by Transroute who collects tolls from cars and light commercial vehicles, paid in cash or electronically. HGVs use a toll-free lane. A toll of €12 (peak) and €6 (off-peak) is levied on cars and light commercial vehicles. Peak is defined as 6am to 10am southbound and 4pm to 7pm northbound, except Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. There is a reduced toll between 10pm and 6am of €3 which applies to all non-exempt vehicles travelling north or south. Tolls collected are remitted to the Department of Transport.

BGA Fleming award

The northern cut and cover tunnel was joint winner in 2004 with the World Trade Center Project of a geo-technical award for the earth retaining works on the M1 motorway. This prize awarded each year by the British geo-technical association.

Safety features

There are 15 pedestrian crossing points (PCPs) situated 250 m apart with emergency telephone and fire fighting niches. Additional fire hose reels are located 125 m from each niche. There are four vehicle crossover points at 1 km intervals comprising a lay-by plus emergency and recovery area. These are located under Shantalla, Collins Avenue (site of the original launch shaft), Marino and Cloisters.

GSM telephone and FM radio coverage is carried into the tunnel with break-in facilities over public broadcasts in the event of an emergency. Not to be confused with Get Some Mates The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is the most popular standard for mobile phones in the world. ... The abbreviations FM, Fm, and fm may refer to: Electrical engineering Frequency modulation (FM) and its most common applications: FM broadcasting, used primarily to broadcast music and speech at VHF frequencies FM synthesis, a sound-generation technique popularized by early digital synthesizers Science Femtometre (fm), an SI measure of length...

There are 420 cameras attached to the vehicle management system (VMS). A maximum speed limit of 80 km/h is in place and HGVs are prevented from using the outside lane.

Overheight vehicles are detected up to 3 km from the tunnel portals and automatic signage is then deployed to stop the vehicle. If necessary, barriers can be lowered to protect the portals.

Controversies

House damage

During the hard-rock boring works vibration caused some damage. Houses in the Marino area were surveyed before and after tunnelling and necessary repairs reimbursed. There were 241 claims and these were adjudicated by a loss adjuster. A fund €1.5 million was set aside.

City centre ban

Dublin City Council's policy was to introduce a ban on trucks in the city centre between 7am and 7pm, but it agreed to delay this ban for a period of two months until 19 February 2007. This was because of opposition from the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC), the Irish Road Haulage Association and the Dublin Port Company. The hauliers cite unreasonable traffic congestion on the M50, especially during the imminent widening of the northern section while IBEC and the Port Company are concerned about restrictions on free movement of goods. February 19 is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... The Irish Road Haulage Association is a Representitive body for anyone who has got anything to do with haulage/transport . ...

The Sunday Independent ran a story on 12 November 2006 revealing the ban that came into force soon after as the Tunnel opened. An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern reportedly put pressure on the Council to abandon their phased approach and initiate the ban in one go. The plan has been criticised by opposition parties who said such a move would simply dump the problem on to an already "dangerously crowded M50". is the 316th day of the year (317th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

East link tolls

One company located south of the Liffey, Marine Terminals Ltd, considered taking legal action against the Council if it went ahead with banning trucks from the city. This was because a ban would force the company to use the tunnel, which would mean crossing the privately owned and operated East-link toll bridge, incurring a €4.80 charge each way. In response, the council agreed with National Toll Roads (NTR), the operator of the bridge, to lift the toll for trucks. The East-Link is a toll bridge in Dublin, Ireland, on the River Liffey. ... NTR plc (National Toll Roads) is an Irish infrastructure company. ...

Height controversy

Even before the commencement of construction, the tunnel was criticised for not being high enough. Critics argued that it would not be able to accommodate heavy goods vehicles higher than 4.65 m (15 ft) and that it should be built with an operating height of 5.5 m to accommodate virtually all sizes of trucks. Proponents of the chosen design argued that it made best economic sense and that it would be able to accommodate most heavy vehicles with only a minor percentage having to use the surface road network. Construction went ahead as planned, but speaking at the breakthrough ceremony, Jimmy Quinn of the Irish Road Haulage Association stated that a future generation may look back and say (about the tunnel not being high enough for very high trucks): "Maybe they should have done it when they were building it."

Water leaks

In Spring 2006, media reports revealed that the tunnel was leaking substantial amounts of water.^[5] This was as a result of sub-standard concrete being poured. When the concrete was removed during remedial works, protective membranes were punctured, resulting in leaks. Once the membranes and concrete were re-instated, the leaks ceased.

Cost overruns

While it is often claimed that the project is over-budget, this is not actually the case. The tender price at €450 million is for construction only while the total project cost is approximately €752 million.

In September 2005, it was reported that NMI was launching a claim for an additional €300 million ^[6]. The Council has stated that this claim will not be met and that the total project cost remains at €752 million.

Exit positioning

The Irish Road Haulage Association has pointed to the problem facing drivers exiting the northbound tunnel. Recent changes in road traffic regulations prevent trucks and lorries from using the overtaking lane of motorways. As the tunnel exits in the "middle" of the M1 motorway, drivers therefore have to immediately cross two lanes of traffic to get into the correct driving lane. This is also the lane that trucks and lorries need to cross to in order to turn onto the M50. See: image. They will have just 1km of road to make this maneouvre.

On the day the tunnel opened, it was revealed that the National Roads Authority have drawn up "secret" contingency plans which will be put into effect if it appears that the current configuration does not work out ^[7]. The National Roads Authority (NRA) (Irish: An tÚdarás um Bóithre Náisiúnta) is a State body in the Republic of Ireland, responsible for the national road network. ...

Relocation of Dublin Port

In October 2006, as the tunnel neared completion, the Progressive Democrats held a conference on their proposal^[8] to relocate Dublin Port to Bremore on the outskirts of Balbriggan, and to redevelop the port area for mixed high density uses. The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, has indicated his support for this proposal. ^[9]. The Progressive Democrats (Irish An Páirtí Daonlathach, lit. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Taoiseach (IPA: or ) — plural: Taoisigh ( or ), also referred to as An Taoiseach[1], is the head of government of Ireland or prime minister. ... Patrick Bartholomew Bertie Ahern (Irish: ; born 12 September 1951) is an Irish politician who, since 26 June 1997, has served as the tenth Taoiseach. ...

Trivia

• On 10 December 2006 the Dublin Port Company and Clonliffe Harriers, a Dublin athletics club, staged a 10 km road race through the tunnel before its official opening^[10].

December 10 is the 344th day (345th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, 21 days before the next year. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

Footnote

¹ Following bankruptcy, the name and assets of this eponymous and long-standing Irish company were bought by Mowlem before construction of the tunnel began. Today, Irishenco is possibly best described as an Irish-based branch of Mowlem. Mowlem is one of the UKs largest construction and engineering companies. ... Mowlem is one of the UKs largest construction and engineering companies. ...

References

1. ^ Road Scheme Activity 2006, National Roads Authority
2. ^ National Road Network Map - Dublin Port Tunnel
3. ^ Port Tunnel to open on 20 December, RTÉ News
   Port tunnel opens after last-minute delay, RTÉ News
4. ^ Port Tunnel opens to all users, RTÉ News
5. ^ Council plays down Dublin Port Tunnel leaks - breakingnews.ie
   New footage reveals extent of leaks in Dublin Port Tunnel - breakingnews.ie
6. ^ Dublin Port Tunnel to top 1 billion euro - sustainabledevelopments.ie
7. ^ Last minute changes to ease tunnel gridlock - Irish Independent (login required)
8. ^ A New Heart for Dublin, one-day conference, Dublin, 2006
9. ^ Ahern backs PDs' plans in moving port to north Dublin, Unison.ie, 22 October 2006
10. ^ Dublin Port Tunnel 10k Run 2006

• Dublin Port Tunnel Information Notes issued by DCC
• Groupe Egis Press Release

The National Roads Authority (NRA) (Irish: An tÚdarás um Bóithre Náisiúnta) is a State body in the Republic of Ireland, responsible for the national road network. ... Corporate logo of RTÉ RTÉ News and Current Affairs is a major division of Radio Telefís Éireann responsible for news programming on television, radio and online within the Republic of Ireland. ... Corporate logo of RTÉ RTÉ News and Current Affairs is a major division of Radio Telefís Éireann responsible for news programming on television, radio and online within the Republic of Ireland. ... Corporate logo of RTÉ RTÉ News and Current Affairs is a major division of Radio Telefís Éireann responsible for news programming on television, radio and online within the Republic of Ireland. ... is the 295th day of the year (296th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

External links

• Dublin port tunnel official website
• Department of transport website
• RTE News short report on the breakthrough
• RTE News report on the breakthrough (Real video)
• Nishimatsu website on the Dublin Port Tunnel
• Mowlem
• Herrenknecht AG — makers of the tunnel boring machine(s) used.
• Groupe Egis — tunnel operators.