Hauliers call for 'education' on tunnel use

Volumes of freight traffic using Dublin Port Tunnel will be low over the holiday period, according to the Irish Road Haulage Association.

Traffic was also light on the M50 yesterday with the AA reporting a morning travel time of just 16 minutes between the M1 junction and the West-Link toll bridge.

Hauliers, who have been slow to leave the traditional routes for crossing the city, yesterday defended their action commenting that there needs to be "a wee bit of education" with regard to tunnel usage.

It was also pointed out that some 30 per cent of traffic leaving the port is foreign registered and hauliers said many of these did not understand that the tolls do not apply to lorries.

The AA said heavy volumes of traffic arrived in yesterday morning, on the daily scheduled ferry sailings to Dublin Port between 5 and 6am, including two daily freight sailings carrying HGVs.

However Nicola Hudson, AA Roadwatch controller, said there were no major problems.

"Despite fears following Thursday's gridlock around the port, on North Wall Quay and East Wall Road, there were no major problems this morning. Up to 40 per cent of the HGV drivers opted to take the Dublin Port Tunnel which reopened at 4.30am following routine scheduled overnight maintenance work," Ms Hudson said. Some 46 per cent of lorries coming through Dublin deliver in the Dublin area, although the port company recently told an Oireachtas committee that no studies had been done on how many of these headed for the south of the county.

From February 19th, lorries of five axles or more will be banned from the city centre and access to the south county will be via the tunnel and the M50.

Irish Road Haulage Association president Jimmy Quinn said he believed more lorries would use the tunnel "with a wee bit of education" particularly as it was "a no brainer" for lorries serving the airport industrial estates and points north.

Key dates which the hauliers are watching include January 8th next when commuter traffic returns to normal, the port is busy and the school term resumes.

A further complication is the rebuilding of the airport M1/M50 interchange which is due with the second phase of the M50 upgrade and scheduled to be under way from mid-2008.