Dublin city centre could face massive disruption if plans for new metro and Luas projects go ahead, writes Frank McDonald, Environment Editor.
Construction of new on-street Luas lines and stations for the proposed rail interconnector between Heuston Station and Spencer Dock "is going to screw up the city centre for a decade", a leading traffic expert has warned.
The expert, who did not wish to be identified, said the disruption in Dublin city during construction was likely to be widespread - not just from linking up two existing lines, but also building extensions to Docklands and Liffey junction, via Broadstone.
The Government's Transport 21 plan also includes a new Luas line running between Lucan to the city centre. Diagramatically, this is shown running in via James's Street, Thomas Street, Christchurch Place, Lord Edward Street and Dame Street.
O'Connell Street, which has been a construction site for at least two years, will have to be dug up again to bring the Sandyford line north to Liffey junction, where it would connect with the commuter line from Maynooth to Connolly station.
The link between the Sandyford and Tallaght lines is shown running via Dawson Street, Nassau Street, Lower Grafton Street, College Green, Westmoreland Street - the route originally chosen and then abandoned by the Government in 1998.
However, a spokesman for the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) said yesterday that the final alignment for this link would only be determined after public consultation on a number of different options - including the one illustrated in the Transport 21 plan.
Based on previous experience with the Tallaght and Sandyford lines, the disruption to streets affected by Luas works would come in two phases - first, the diversion of under-street services and, second, the installation of the tracks and their overhead cables.
These operations led to loud complaints and claims for compensation from businesses along the route. The most vocal objector was Noelle Campbell-Sharpe, owner of the Origin Gallery on Harcourt Street, who said her business had been nearly ruined.
The RPA spokesman sought to minimise fears by saying that "a lot of lessons were learned" during construction of the two lines, adding that many of the problems associated with them were caused by giving "too much latitude" to the contractors involved.
The spokesman said radar mapping would be used to pinpoint the exact location of utilities such as sewage mains and pipes carrying gas, electricity and telecom lines. The work would also be phased to "minimise disruption to businesses and the public generally".
He said applications by the RPA for light rail orders would be made shortly for the proposed extension of the Tallaght line to the Point Depot at East Wall Road and for an southerly extension of the Sandyford line to the rapidly-expanding Cherrywood area.
Businesses in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC)have called for the re-routing of a planned Docklands extension to the Tallaght line over fears that years of construction would have a "devastating impact" on the area.
A group called the IFSC steering committee, which claims to represent 430 businesses, is campaigning against the proposed route via Mayor Street on the basis that its construction could disrupt vital communications in the area, costing them €50 million a day.
The committee is seeking to have the Luas line diverted to the North Wall, where there is not so much fibre-optic cabling under-street, or scrapped in favour of a "cheaper and more effective" dedicated bus service between Connolly station and the Point.
Construction of the rail interconnector between Heuston and Spencer Dock would not be so disruptive because it would be in a bored tunnel, but stations along the route, in St Stephen's Green and the Liberties, would necessarily involve excavations from street level.
Dublin Bus, which got very little from the Government's latest transport package, is also concerned about the impact of rail construction on its bus services - many of which had to be re-routed during works on the Tallaght and Sandyford lines.
Minister for Transport Martin Cullen promised the company an extra 20 buses "immediately", even though it needs at least 180 - primarily to provide a frequent service on quality bus corridors (QBCs), such as those installed recently on Merrion Road and Fonthill Road.
One source said the Merrion Road QBC had become "a shambles" because there were not enough buses to serve it and, in the case of Fonthill Road, the QBC only saw "one bus an hour" and there were real fears that Travellers "could move their caravans on to it".
Although 180 additional buses were promised under the current National Development Plan, this investment has been put on hold by the Government since 2002 until it secures agreement from Dublin Bus and its trade unions on the privatisation of new services.