TIM BRICK,
Madam, - Articles and headlines about the Dublin Port Tunnel in some of this week's newspapers contain several inaccuracies which I wish to clarify.
1. The incident on the DART line at Fairview is still under investigation by a team of engineers from Iarnród Éireann and NMI who will submit a detailed report as soon as possible. We would be happy to make the report available to you and will be available for comment.
2. It is both unfair and misleading to compare pipe arch-works only three metres under the DART line at Fairview to tunnelling 30 to 90 feet under homes.
3. The tunnel boring machine will be under each home for a mere three days, and not for a couple of years as reported in some newspapers. Furthermore it will be the depth of at least one-and-half two-storey houses underground, and in many cases the depth of four-and-a-half houses (90 feet). At Marino, the machine will be at a depth of 66 feet.
4. The contractor, NMI, has built similar underground tunnels under cities all over the world for many years. (Nishimatsu have built over 200 tunnels, worldwide.) The safety of both staff and the public is always their top priority.
5. All homes under which the tunnel is being built have been surveyed by independent engineers and will be surveyed again when tunnelling is completed to verify that no damage has been caused.
The Dublin Port Tunnel project is too important for misleading information to be printed about it. We are always available to comment on and provide accurate information regarding the project.
I would hope that future reports regarding the Port Tunnel will reflect a more balanced approach. - Yours, etc.,
TIM BRICK,
Project Engineer,
Dublin City Council,
Dublin 2.