Tens of thousands of participants and spectators in the Special Olympics World Games will converge on Dublin over the next 24 hours in advance of the Games' opening ceremony in Croke Park tomorrow evening.
Major traffic disruption has been reported this afternoon on the main routes into Dublin as a result of the added volume of traffic, with the Lucan Road approaching the M50 reported to be 'very bad'.
Gardaí have approved a number of routes to transport athletes from the 20 accommodation venues to the 22 sports venues - with bus lanes, quality bus corridors and the M50 forming the backbone of the plan.
The volume of traffic at the morning and evening rush-hours for the duration of the Games will be increased under the plans - with 320 buses set to ferry athletes to and from their sports venues every morning before 8.30 a.m.
Tomorrow is set to be one of the Games' busiest days, with 75,000 people attending the opening ceremony in Croke Park at 6.30 p.m.
Special Olympics organisers and the Garda have urged the public to use public transport, as far as possible over the course of the Games, which will conclude on Sunday, June 29th.
Earlier, the National Safety Council urged drivers to be patient while driving on the main routes during the Games, stating some disruption to traffic will be inevitable.