Part of the Jack Lynch Tunnel under the river Lee in Cork is to remain closed until midnight tonight after a truck driver caused several hundred thousand euro worth of damage to one of the tunnel's bores yesterday afternoon.
The pick-up truck entered the northbound bore of the tunnel at about 12.22pm but the driver misjudged the height of a crane mounted on the back of his lorry and it struck the lighting system attached to the roof of the tunnel.
The driver was unaware of the impact and continued driving, pulling down lighting and cabling for some 300m (1,000ft) of the 600m two-lane bore before exiting on the northern side and proceeding towards Midleton.
The incident was caught on CCTV monitors and gardaí later located the man in Togher on Cork's southside.
A full report will now be prepared by gardaí.
A Cork City Council spokesman said the tunnel suffered no structural harm but extensive damage was caused to the lighting system in the northbound bore and to the radio system used to inform motorists of any difficulties.
According to the spokesman, the northbound bore was closed within minutes. Within an hour, a contraflow system was opened on the two-lane southbound bore.
The incident resulted in tailbacks of up to 5km (three miles), particularly on the southern side at rush hour, with northbound traffic backed up to the Rochestown exit on the South Link Road.
The council spokesman said experts were likely to spend most of today assessing the damage but it is hoped the northbound bore will re-open at midnight with speed restrictions.
It is expected it will take two weeks for replacement parts to arrive and repair is likely to take six to eight weeks. It will start in June with the northbound bore closed by night and a contraflow system in place.
This is the second time the lighting system in the Jack Lynch Tunnel has been damaged and follows a similar incident in February 2005 when a truck with a gib caused over €500,000 worth of damage to the lighting in the southbound bore.