Decision soon on stilts for Luas

The Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, says he will decide in the next two weeks whether to put the Luas line on stilts at the Red Cow roundabout, or bring forward the M50 upgrade at the major intersection.

The Minister said yesterday his preferred option was to keep Luas off the road at the congested roundabout, but he had not ruled out incorporating it into the planned redevelopment of the junction. "I'm not an engineer, so I'm not going to prescribe a solution but I have a strong preference for not having the rail tracks on the road."

The other option would be to keep Luas grounded but to incorporate it into the planed upgrade of the M50, which is not due to be completed for another five years, he said.

"The alternative is to bring forward the upgrade of the interchange that's happening in five years anyway to within the next 18 months to two years.

"In the next couple of weeks I'm going to make my decision."

The projected cost for the M50 upgrade is €300 million based on a start date of early 2005. Mr Brennan said his decision would not be based purely on costs, but on what would make the "most practical sense".

"I don't want an elevated train and then in two years' time the roads authority to come back and say it could all be done together and I'd like if it could be done together. I don't want patchwork stuff."

The Rail Procurement Agency has told Mr Brennan it is not in favour of the stilts option and was concerned that it may not be legally able to build a bridge on stilts without a public inquiry.

"We looked at stilts and saw no benefit in them. Even if a public inquiry was not found to be necessary it would create a 13-month delay in Luas," said Mr Ger Hannon, the agency's spokesman.

Addressing the Society of Chartered Surveyors' annual conference yesterday, Mr Brennan said the agency had assured him Luas would be "broadly on time and within the revised budget".

"I know the Luas has had its critics, but we all, including myself, need to be more supportive of it. I believe it will make a huge difference on the number of cars coming into Dublin."

A decision on the construction of a Metro line would be made by Christmas, he said, and an overall strategy for transport in the State would be published in the coming months.

The reputation of chartered surveyors, and his own reputation would be on the line, if these projects weren't finished on time and on budget, he said.

"The public in Ireland are angry with you and they're angry with me. We have to get better value for money." Top-class cost control was imperative for public confidence in future projects.

"There can be no excuses. Over the next couple of years all of our professional reputations will be tarnished if we allow projects to get out of hand. The days of not coming in on time and on budget are over."