Cullen welcomes official opening of Dublin Port Tunnel

Date: 20 December 2006

Transport Minister, Martin Cullen, T.D. today (Wednesday 20 December 2006) welcomed the official opening of the Dublin Port Tunnel by An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, T.D. Describing it as a landmark event, the Minister said: “In historical terms, only the electrification dam on the River Shannon at Ardnacrusha in the 1920s comes anywhere near to competing with the scale and ambition of this project.”

The Dublin Port Tunnel, which contains twin dual-carriageway tunnels 4.5 km each in length, will create a high quality link for almost two million truck journeys each year from Dublin Port to the M50. As a dedicated route for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), it is estimated that over 6,000 trucks and buses will be removed each day from the streets of Dublin city. They will be able to move toll-free through the Tunnel.

Including the Port Tunnel, 16 major national road projects have been completed and opened to traffic during 2006 and almost a dozen more have started construction. Commenting today, Minister Cullen said: “Under this Fianna Fáil led Government, the progress and momentum we have witnessed during 2006 in the context of Transport 21, the Government’s programme for transport has been exceptional. It is appropriate that the opening of the Port Tunnel - the longest urban motorway tunnel in Europe - should bring such a great year to a close.”

The Minister added: “The Dublin Port Tunnel and Transport 21 complement each other. The Tunnel will help reduce congestion in Dublin thereby facilitating improvements in public transport and for the general car user, while the upgrade of the M50 and the national motorway network will allow for better access to all parts of the country for Port traffic”. He said: “The Port Tunnel’s completion and opening today by An Taoiseach, represents both an important achievement for Dublin, and another milestone in our national progress as an economy and a society”.

Minister of State for Transport, Pat the Cope Gallagher added: “The Tunnel will also provide much needed improvement to the environment of Dublin city centre - fewer trucks mean better air quality and less noise - and will facilitate the introduction of traffic calming measures in residential areas”.

Minister Cullen thanked Dublin City Council who managed the Dublin Port Tunnel project. He also congratulated all those who worked on the initiative - approximately 5,000 workers - from its inception to the official opening.

Issued by: Michelle Hoctor (01) 6041089 / 087 8563070
Veronica Scanlan (01) 6041087 / 087 6430622