| The Dublin Port Tunnel is the first project of its | | | | and remove smoke if a fire did erupt. There is |
| kind in Ireland. While there is a tunnel in cork, The | | | | also a gradual lighting effect at the exits so that |
| Jack Lynch Tunnel, the Dublin Port Tunnel is on an | | | | drivers won't be blinded driving from dark to light. |
| entirely different scale. There is a budget for the | | | | Among the criticisms for the tunnel is the fact |
| tunnel of 752 million euros, and it is estimated by | | | | that it are that it is not high enough to take super |
| the completion date, over 7million man hours will | | | | trucks, those which are higher than the normal |
| have been spent building the tunnel. The project is | | | | container trucks. There is also criticism during the |
| one of the biggest being currently worked on in | | | | building of the tunnel because of rising costs and |
| Europe. | | | | due to noise levels from the huge boring machines |
| The tunnel is aimed to bring heavy good vehicles | | | | which were working under many residential areas. |
| from the M50/M1 to the port, and remove them | | | | Other arguments against the tunnel include, more |
| from the roads in and around the city. There are | | | | roads lead to more traffic and there were less |
| two tunnels being constructed, one will take traffic | | | | expensive options available to the government to |
| in to the port (south bound) while the other will | | | | link the port with the M50. |
| take traffic out of the port (north bound). The | | | | The benefits that the tunnel will bring to Dublin |
| total distance of the tunnel is 5.7 kilometres and it | | | | according to Dublin City Council are the removal |
| is estimated that the journey will only take 6 | | | | of HGV from the roads around Dublin, and the |
| minuets. | | | | knock on effects of better environments and |
| Safety is always a major concern on projects like | | | | better traffic movement, the reduced travel time |
| this, and the planners have been careful to include | | | | for HGV travelling to and from the port and safer |
| a number of safety features such as pedestrian | | | | roads. The tunnel is expected to open during the |
| paths between the tunnels and emergency | | | | summer of 2006, and only then will the benefits |
| phones every 250 meters. There are massive | | | | be able to be truly measured. |
| fans which will improve the air quality in the tunnel | | | | |