Dublin Port Tunnel facing indefinite delay due to leaks

Navan Junction

07:33 Thursday July 27th 2006 - unison.ie

The €800m Dublin Port Tunnel is reportedly facing an indefinite delay due to an endless series of leaks.
Earlier this year, the National Roads Authority insisted that the leaks were not a problem and would not delay the opening of the facility.

However, reports this morning say a team of workers is still battling to fix the problem and the opening of the tunnel had been put on hold indefinitely.

The project is already two years behind schedule and has missed at least four separate completion deadlines.

gobdaw

Who or what are these reports? The same that has Luas callapsing off its rails? Is no reputable parties prepared to put their name to these reports?

The only recognisable people in all these "reports" are NRA and DCC who consistantly deny or minimise them.

But then, thats not the kind of news the Sindo likes to publish - its just not that kind of newspaper!

Dublin Port tunnel has the capacity (of all engineering projects currently under construction) of dramatically improving the safety and quality of Dublin city streets. It should have been done twenty years ago.

jd

Tim Brick rubbished that Indo "report" on the radio this morning. He sounded pretty p***ed off at having to respond to this nonsense.
jd

strassenwolf

gobdaw wrote:

Is no reputable parties prepared to put their name to these reports?

Often the case with leaked reports.:p

road_high

Yes, but the simple facts are that this tunnel HAS had major delays and ran hugely over budget- therefore there is no real exaggeration I can see on the Indo's part in their reporting.

paulm17781

jd wrote:

Tim Brick rubbished that Indo "report" on the radio this morning. He sounded pretty p***ed off at having to respond to this nonsense.
jd

Did he say it was on schedule to open? It is due to open this month I think, is that still the case?

jd

paulm17781 wrote:

Did he say it was on schedule to open? It is due to open this month I think, is that still the case?

no- he said it would be tested with emergency services etc until Mid October or so.

jd

mfitzy wrote:

Yes, but the simple facts are that this tunnel HAS had major delays and ran hugely over budget- therefore there is no real exaggeration I can see on the Indo's part in their reporting.

Is this really true or just "conventional wisdom".

eg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin_Port_Tunnel

Cost overruns

While it is often claimed that the project is over-budget, this is not actually the case. The tender price at €450m is for construction only while the total project cost is approximately €752m.
In September 2005, it was reported that NMI was launching a claim for an additional €300 million.The Council has stated that this claim will not be met and that the total project cost remains at €752m.

Or is the total project cost being compared to some ballpark figure a minister came up with using a paper napkin??

gobdaw

"The extra cost is believed to be in the region of €200m-down from an initial claim of €444m.
However the city council still insists the taxpayer will not be paying any of this and the tunnel will cost €752m"

Quote from Indi (but that only made end of article, tucked away on page 10.)

Much better to lead article with "Teams of repair specialists battle to stem series of leaks". We'll all be drowned in our beds!

paulm17781

jd wrote:

no- he said it would be tested with emergency services etc until Mid October or so.

So there probably is a bigger problem than they are letting on? I may never use it but I really want those trucks off the city streets. I actually will sleep better when they are gone!

jd

paulm17781 wrote:

So there probably is a bigger problem than they are letting on? I may never use it but I really want those trucks off the city streets. I actually will sleep better when they are gone!

I'd feel better about cycling from Santry to Eastpoint-not a chance at the moment.
I hope a problem after "The Big Dig" in Boston doesn't occur.

http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/07/26/ap2907128.html

7-Year-Old Memo Gave Big Dig Warning
..
..
Seven years before falling concrete crushed a motorist to death inside one of Boston's Big Dig tunnels, a safety officer warned that the bolts could not possibly hold the heavy ceiling panels, according to a bluntly worded memo that came to light Wednesday
..
..
He said inspections since the July 10 accident in which panels fell and killed 39-year-old Milena Del Valle in her car have revealed problems throughout the $14.6 billion project, the most expensive highway project in U.S. history
..
..

jd

paulm17781

jd wrote:

I'd feel better about cycling from Santry to Eastpoint-not a chance at the moment.

I used (and still occasionally) cycle to Phoenix park up the quays. Not fun if a boat has just come in.

Ap

Looks like they've admitted to themselves its not going to be in "Summer 2006"

Look at new version of website:
Dublin Port Tunnel

and the cached version in Google:
Dublin Port Tunnel

Notice the difference?

But the Gobshi*e that made the change forgot to edit the title of the Page...

darkman2

Anyone noticed how every excuse is being used to stop this from opening until just before the next general election? Think about that for Berties constituency.:mad:

jmkennedyie

I heard two radio interviews on Radio 1 today - NRA chairman on the news around 8:25AM and DCC Engineer interviewed around 9:30AM (sorry - not sure about titles).

Summary:
NRA - construction complete, testing & safety training etc. in progress. Not specifing date yet as they don't know which systems are/are not working until they complete tests. However, I think I heard him mention it could be of the order of 13/14 weeks fom now. That would make it end of Oct?

DCC - rubbished the article in the paper today. His update: Construction complete. No flooding. Some drips of water are feeding into normal drainage system. Invisible to users. Local residents have been shown the tunnel to demonstrate no leaks. Testing started. It requires 40,000 connections to be verified...e.g. electronic sensor that detects if fire extinguisher removed. Also want to gain confidence in the systems...i.e. burn-in tests over the next couple of months.

Diaspora

Whatever the extent of the leaks there is a larger issue in play here and that is the relationship between the NRA and contractors. In this case Dublin City Council stepped in when the contractors tried to extract yet more cash from the fixed price contract. The NRA has simply not fronted contractors in the past and schemesa such as the Sligo inner relief road have come in at a multiple of their original cost.

I welcome the DCC hard line on this and if it means that the City has to suffer HGVs for another few months the message it will send out to all roads contractors will be a small price.

I hope that DCC take all potential actions against the contractors in this case and that the NRA start to do the same. The taxpayer has been ripped off for too long.

bryanw

Looks like I'm joining this topic a little late...

I'm glad to see that the council are taking a strong line on this.

I listened to 2 radio reports on RTE and Newstalk today about the Port Tunnel and listening to the people who actually know what the situation is and what they are talking about. This Indo rubbish, and its not the first time either. Whatever is left of this Irish Independent is just a rag... I don't know why they feel they have something to gain from Government Bashing. If you want a proper newspaper buy the Irish Times...

People don't seem to be able to comprehend the fact that a project of this scale has never been done in Ireland before - we are only learning. Do people expect you to be able to write an essay when your just learning the alphabet?

humanji

paulm17781 wrote:

So there probably is a bigger problem than they are letting on? I may never use it but I really want those trucks off the city streets. I actually will sleep better when they are gone!

When any tunnel is built, there is usually at least a 3 month testing phase where the gas and electricity systems are checked. And as for the leask, that's just the sindo flogging a dead horse, trying to get anyone to read their rag.

spacetweek

Ap wrote:

But the Gobshi*e that made the change forgot to edit the title of the Page...

They also said "for all intensive purposes". Hilarity!

monument

jd wrote:

Or is the total project cost being compared to some ballpark figure a minister came up with using a paper napkin??

Would such a case not be a ministers' fault for giving such a figure?

paulm17781

jomanji wrote:

When any tunnel is built, there is usually at least a 3 month testing phase where the gas and electricity systems are checked. And as for the leask, that's just the sindo flogging a dead horse, trying to get anyone to read their rag.

But it was due to open in August. Now it wont.....

humanji

Well the tunnel itself is finished, but the area around it isn't. The buildings have to be fitted out, the toll areas have to be finished and I guess a whole load of cleaning up has to be done in order to get the place looking in order. Then there would be the recruitment and training of staff that'll take time too. The fact that it's taking longer that they thought is just bad planning on their part.

markpb

jomanji wrote:

Well the tunnel itself is finished, but the area around it isn't. The buildings have to be fitted out, the toll areas have to be finished and I guess a whole load of cleaning up has to be done in order to get the place looking in order. Then there would be the recruitment and training of staff that'll take time too. The fact that it's taking longer that they thought is just bad planning on their part.

I don't know about the south-end but the northern end is pretty much done. Signage is up, traffic lights are fitted (at least I assume thats what they are, they're hidden under black bags), the roof of the entrances has been finished, a lot of the site work has been cleaned up and it looks like they're just putting up the signs on the gantries.

Also I assume the tolling was given to an operator so they can start the hiring process right now even though it isn't finished.

humanji

All the buildings on the south-end are to be fitted-out, so that'll take a while. The company that took it over (Transroute) are hiring people on Irishjobs.ie at the mo. Personally I can't see it being open this year, but that's just me

icdg

Regarding the southern end - they've started lining the roads and landscaping. A gantry was already up and some of the other signs, including some blue arrows and a crossed-out chopsticks ("End of Motorway Regulations") sign are also now up.

paulm17781

jomanji wrote:

All the buildings on the south-end are to be fitted-out, so that'll take a while. The company that took it over (Transroute) are hiring people on Irishjobs.ie at the mo. Personally I can't see it being open this year, but that's just me

None the less, it was due to open in August, now it won't.

Bluetonic

paulm17781 wrote:

None the less, it was due to open in August, now it won't.

I never remember seeing anything where is was offically announced it was due to open in August.

paulm17781

Bluetonic wrote:

I never remember seeing anything where is was offically announced it was due to open in August.

I don't even remember where I saw / read / heard that. I remember it being, May, June, August now October. I'm sure we'll still be told it's on time and under budget. :rolleyes:

Navan Junction

paulm17781 wrote:

I don't even remember where I saw / read / heard that. I remember it being, May, June, August now October. I'm sure we'll still be told it's on time and under budget. :rolleyes:

The website said 'opening this summer'.

humanji

Well the original plan was 2000, so they're a bit off lol

markpb

2000 would have been a bit optimistic since it wasn't started then ;-)

To the best of my memory, the signs they put up at the start (mid 2001) said work would run for approx. 40 months.

humanji

The first ideas for it were back in '94 to have it complete for the millenium. A Japanese company was to build it, but the government decided against it, later changing their minds, but cocking it up in the process.

icdg

Regarding the northern end, took a trip today on the M1 (soon to be M50), and regarding the much debated status of these roads, here's what I make out:

The M1 will now stop/start at M50 J3. Between the mouth of the tunnels and J3, the M1 will become the M50. After the demerge, the M1 will become the N1 and loose motorway regulations. In the opposite direction it will loose motorway regulations up to the Coolock/Santry exit, at which point motorway regulations kick in, signed as M50. This is still before the merge with what will be the mainline and the mouth of the tunnel.

Most of the signage is up. There's a fork sign which uniquely on the Irish motorway network is signed as both J2 (for Coolock/Santry) and J1 (City Centre N1). The mainline is signed "Toll Tunnel".

Some of the gantries appear to be actually TSM-compliant, including a mini-gantry over the M50 on-slip. There's also a new even-more-dodgy-then before gantry at J3 northbound (which is now, I suppose technically the "southbound" carrigeway of the M50) which not only manages to sign the M50 as going both straight on and to the left, but the sign for the left manages to mention M50 twice! Don't ask what they were thinking...

humanji

icdg wrote:

Don't ask what they were thinking...

"Thinking" never came into it

spacetweek

icdg wrote:

Regarding the northern end, took a trip today on the M1 (soon to be M50), and regarding the much debated status of these roads, here's what I make out:

Any pics ?