The one-millionth truck will pass through the Dublin Port Tunnel today - alleviating the city of major traffic congestion, the National Roads Authority says.
Just six months after the €750m tunnel - which took nearly 15 years to build - opened, NRA figures show that more than 1.5 million cars, trucks and buses have used it.
Trucks travelling through the city have fallen by 94 per cent since the tunnel opened in December, the authority said.
The one-millionth lorry trip showed the significant impact the tunnel was having on Dublin's road infrastructure by allowing heavy vehicles direct access to Dublin's Port, NRA chief executive Fred Barry said. "A significant milestone has been reached in only six months".
Buses and vehicles not transporting heavy goods are tolled at up to €12 to travel through the tunnel. While more than 50 per cent of its users (8,000) are heavy vehicles, at least 4,500 trips are taken by smaller toll-paying vehicles, the NRA says.
But transport agencies, including the Irish Road Haulage Association, have warned moves to ban heavy vehicles from Dublin city have created "chaos" by putting extra pressure on the outlying M50.