Failing to increase the size of the Dublin Port Tunnel to facilitate "supercube" trucks will cost the economy €76.37 million over the next 14 years, according to a new study. Liam Reid reports.
The report, commissioned by the Transport Umbrella Group (TUG), a lobby organisation, claims that failing to raise the height of the tunnel will exclude up to 332 trucks per day.
The group's chairman, Mr Jerry Kiersey, said the report was "further evidence that the height restriction of the Dublin Port Tunnel needs to be changed to allow the tunnel to do what it was originally intended for - take heavy goods vehicles off the streets of Dublin".
The report comes in advance of an independent report commissioned by the Department of Transport from Atkins Consultant Engineers, on options and costs regarding alterations to the tunnel, which is due for completion by the end of 2005.
Under the current plans the tunnel will only cater for vehicles with a height of 4.65 metres or less. This will accommodate most HGV lorries and trailers, which usually have a height of 4.5 metres.
However, the last three years have seen the introduction of supercube trucks, which are 4.8 metres in height and would not be allowed in the tunnel.
The report, by a TCD transport economist, Dr Sean Barrett, and his research assistant, Mr Niall Kelly, found that excluding the trucks would cost haulage firms an additional €25.22 million between 2005 and 2018 in terms of longer journey times.
A further €51 million will arise from accident costs from having to use city-centre roads, the two economists estimate.
The report also warns that the congestion from forcing the supercube trucks into the city centre will be the equivalent of nearly 1,000 extra cars in Dublin per day.
Dr Barrett warned that there would be both social and commercial costs that would affect quality of life and economic competitiveness if the tunnel was not raised.
"A failure to alter the height will result in trucks continuing to use the surface routes, which brings with it its own set of externalities such as noise pollution, congestion, emissions and intrusion," he said.
However, Dublin City Council, which is overseeing the €625 million project, has questioned the figures on which the TUG study is based.
The deputy city engineer, Mr Tim Brick, said that the costs were based on a projection of HGV traffic rising by an average of 5 per cent over the next 15 years to 332 super trucks per day by 2018.
"They base their figures on business at Dublin Port rising by 5 per cent per annum for the foreseeable future, but we don't necessarily see that translating into the same increase in HGV numbers," he said.
According to Mr Brick, studies in England have seen the rise of HGV level off.
He also questioned the €51.15 million figure for accident savings.
"Based on this, the overall accident savings from the remaining traffic going through the port tunnel is €2.5 billion, which does not make sense to us," Mr Brick said.