Report on height of port tunnel referred back to its authors

The Atkins report on the possibility of increasing the clearance height of the Dublin Port Tunnel has been referred back to its authors.

The report, which was delivered to the Department of Transport earlier this week, examined options for the tunnel in the light of claims by the Irish Road Haulage Association and the Dublin Port-based Transport Users Group that the clearance at 4.65 metres was too low.

Dublin City Council has said the tunnel is being built to Austrian standards, considered to be the optimum, and that only Spain and parts of Britain make provision for taller lorries.

The Atkins report was commissioned by the Department of Transport to determine whether it was viable, necessary or financially feasible to raise the height of the tunnel.

It presented options to the Department this week and is understood to have found that raising the height to 5.3 metres could cost €100 million and take a year to complete.

The report did not make any firm recommendation, however, the decision being the responsibility of the developers, the City Council and the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan.

A spokesman for the Minister was not available yesterday. Transport sources were, however, puzzled by the move to refer the report back, asking whether it was to facilitate secretarial or more significant changes.

Some of the options for increasing the clearance include reducing the width of the lanes within the tunnel or lowering the floor level. This must be decided by early next year.