DUBLIN Corporation has placed all six route options for the proposed £130 million port tunnel on exhibition for three months to test public reaction to the various alternatives.
However, one corporation official conceded yesterday that the statutory exhibition - required to alter the city plan to provide for the project - could "open the floodgates" to a whole new series of objections.
So far, objections have been confined to Marino residents, who strenuously oppose the preferred route because it would run under more than 270 houses in the area, and Whitehall residents, who want the entrance to the tunnel relocated away from their homes.
But the city council decided last month that all six options should be put on display, rather than the "A6" route favoured by the project engineers. "It's all part of the democratic process," said Mr Rory Deegan, a senior corporation planner. Everything is up for grabs."
The six alternatives - routes A1 to A6 - are all illustrated separately as a dotted line on a map of the area.
More detailed drawings are also available so that people can study the proposals in detail and judge what impact each route might have on particular areas.
In the interests of fairness, an earlier exhibition at the Civic Offices which focused almost exclusively on the preferred route through Marino will not form part of the current exhibition. "All of the aerial photographs, for example, showed the A6 route only," Mr Deegan said.
An "explanatory handout is available tracing the history of the port tunnel scheme and describing each route option, as well as the engineering, environmental and cost considerations. Apart from A6, the five other options include a major interchange at Griffith Avenue.
Asked to explain this discrepancy, Mr Sean Mason, of Geoconsult Arup, which designed the scheme, said there were so many savings on the A6 route that it had been possible to "pull back" its interchange with the Swords Road to Ellenfield Park, north of Whitehall Church.
The Al route, running through open ground west of Marino, would involve "major construction disturbance" from Whitehall to Griffith Avenue, according to the handout, as well as "permanent visual intrusion" and the demolition of 10 properties in Richmond Avenue. It would cost £210 million.
The A2 route, also estimated at £210 million, would involve similar construction disturbance and noise intrusion along open cut sections as well as visual intrusion affecting such facilities as St Vincent's Hospital, off Grace Park Road, and the demolition of 11 properties in Richmond Road.
A3, costed at £192 million, would take an eastward route, with a "cut and cover" tunnel running along Griffith Avenue, before swinging southwards towards the port. One of its main disadvantages would be the effects of land reclamation needed to build a causeway across the Tolka estuary.
A4 is substantially similar to A3, but considerably cheaper at £140 million, while AS is the most expensive at £217 million. According to the handout, this route, running to the west of Marino, would also have negative environmental impact in terms of noise and visual intrusion.
Dublin Corporation intends to keep the exhibition open during normal hours at the Civic Offices, Wood Quay, until February 3rd, which is the deadline for objections.
There will also be a travelling exhibition involving libraries and shopping centres around the city, and not just in the affected area.
