A giant tunnel-boring machine, 11.8 metres in diameter, is to begin work next week on the Dublin Port Tunnel. The machine, which has been installed at Whitehall, will bore at an average rate of 10 metres a day over a total of 2.4 km, surfacing at Fairview Park.
It took three ships to transport to Dublin the 105 pieces which make up the machine, which is one of two tunnel-borers to be used on the project.
Dublin City Council has said it would monitor local properties throughout the operation to safeguard householders from nuisance or disturbance. The local authority has also appointed a panel of independent surveyors who will carry out surveys on building conditions above the route and within 30 metres of it, as agreed with residents, before and after the works.
According to the council, vibrations will be kept below levels at which even cosmetic damage could occur. After residents raised concerns, the scheme was redesigned to lower the depth of the tunnel so that its top would be no more than 18-24 metres below houses.
The Japanese construction company Nishimatsu forms one-part of a three-legged consortium NMI, to which the project contract was awarded.
The Tokyo-based company has 65 years in construction, mainly in Asia, and has carried out projects in Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore. It is specifically responsible for the boring section of the €448 million Dublin project.
The tunnel, which will provide for two lanes of traffic in both directions, is due to open in early 2005. It is expected to divert 9,000 trucks and heavy good vehicles from the city each day.
