After two years of boring with a massive drill tunnelling for the Dublin Port Tunnel is complete.
The 150 metre long, 1600 tonne boring machine nicknamed Gráinne made it through the last stretch of rock to connect both ends of the Dublin Port Tunnel. The tunnel is now completely excavated and runs 2.2 kilometres from Whitehall to Dublin Port.
Once the celebrations die, down a tunnel digger admits he is,
Glad to see the back of it.
Minister for Transport Séamus Brennan is on site at Whitehall and indicates the height of the Dublin Port Tunnel will not be raised to accommodate super trucks. He will sign off on the issue when new rules on height restrictions for vehicles using Irish roads are announced.
Jimmy Quinn of the Irish Road Haulage Association believes not raising the height of the tunnel is an oversight. He thinks accommodating super trucks should be included in the construction stage of the tunnel, rather than at some point in the future.
Residents living 20 metres above the tunnel are concerned about the effect it will have on the value of their properties. For Tim Brick, Dublin City Council deputy city engineer and those who worked on the project, it marks a huge achievement.
Dublin Port Tunnel is on schedule to be fully operational by the end of 2005.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 18 August 2004. The reporter is Robert Shortt.
