Southern Ring Road/Shannon Tunnel

boardsdotie

Looks like we have a development,Hopefully they will change their mind about closing access to the city via the Quality Hotel

New Shannon tunnel to cause traffic problems in Limerick City.

The tunnel under the River Shannon, planned as part of the Limerick Southern Ring Road will cause problems for traffic in the city centre.


The tunnel under the River Shannon, planned as part of the Limerick Southern Ring Road will cause problems for traffic in the city centre.

That`s according to a draft report into the development of Limerick City which is critical of the project and the tunnel capable of handling up to 40,000 vehicle movements per day.

"The Limerick City Centre Strategy" points out that "The opening of the tunnel will place an additional strain on the access routes to the city centre at peak times"

This is because "once on the the southern ring road commuters have only two access points to the city centre".

The project is under construction and due for completion in 2010.

Sean O Neill, of the National Roads Authority, insists the development is welcome.

[URL="Http://www.95fm.ie/newsroom/indepth.asp?pt=n&id=86591"]LINK[/URL]

1huge1

I'm so sick of telling people that its called the Limerick Tunnel...

Also maybe I'm wrong here but wouldnt it take a lot of cars out of the city because of all the people using the tunnel who don't want to go into Limerick at all not the other way around.

source

I think they may be talking about the people who would use it to get from one side of town to the other, for instance....i live in annacotty and want to go to the ennis road.......i would if such an option was available head onto the southern ring road and get off at the appropriate exit, however if there are only 2 exits along the southern ring road, i won't bother because i won't be able to get off anywhere near where i want to go.so i'll just go through town as always therefore no alleviation on the congestion. ie if there aren't more exits put on it'll just be another half arsed job

Jumpy

Please note that one of the exits will be held up by traffic lights instead of a proper off-ramp.
Ballysimon/Tipp road.

I swear they let the trainees draw up the plans for Limerick.

I spoke to one of the main engineers there about this once.

Word for word
Me: "So, do you live in Limerick"
Engineer: "No, Dublin, but I am down there a lot"

1huge1

foinse wrote: »

I think they may be talking about the people who would use it to get from one side of town to the other, for instance....i live in annacotty and want to go to the ennis road.......i would if such an option was available head onto the southern ring road and get off at the appropriate exit, however if there are only 2 exits along the southern ring road, i won't bother because i won't be able to get off anywhere near where i want to go.so i'll just go through town as always therefore no alleviation on the congestion. ie if there aren't more exits put on it'll just be another half arsed job

Yes but surely with the amount of cars taken out of the city centre you'll be able to get across the city easily enough (assuming its not rush hour of course)

bazz26

1huge1 wrote: »

Yes but surely with the amount of cars taken out of the city centre you'll be able to get across the city easily enough (assuming its not rush hour of course)

With the planned toll of €2 or more for each trip through the tunnel, not as many cars may use it as expected.

Amazotheamazing

bazz26 wrote: »

With the planned toll of €2 or more for each trip through the tunnel, not as many cars may use it as expected.

A lot of Limerick people feel this way, but I bet all the Cork and Galway people who get caught in Limerick trying to cross the Shannon really can't wait until it's open. You'd be surprised just how big a hold up Limerick is on your way from Cork to Galway or vice versa.

hobie

Is it really called the Limerick Tunnel ? .....

1huge1

Yes its the Limerick Tunnel

1:All the signs say Limerick tunnel
2:In the governments transport 21 they call it the Limerick Tunnel
3:The website is www.limericktunnel.com

bazz26

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

A lot of Limerick people feel this way, but I bet all the Cork and Galway people who get caught in Limerick trying to cross the Shannon really can't wait until it's open. You'd be surprised just how big a hold up Limerick is on your way from Cork to Galway or vice versa.

Agreed but these will tend to be infrequent users who will not mind paying the few euros to bypass the city the occasional time they are here.

Slightly off topic but frequent motorists who for example commute to and from Shannon may find it a financial strain to cough up say an additional €4 per day, 5 days a week to get to and from work on top of the already high price of car ownership in this country. Also the Jack Lynch tunnel in Cork is toll free so why not this one?

rok

1huge1 wrote: »

Yes its the Limerick Tunnel

1:All the signs say Limerick tunnel
2:In the governments transport 21 they call it the Limerick Tunnel
3:The website is www.limericktunnel.com

Will it always be the Limerick Tunnel after it opens, or will they re-name it e.g "Jim Kemmy Tunnel", "Richard Harris Tunnel", "expensive Toll Tunnel" or even "Save our Heathrow Slots-Shannon Airport linkroad Tunnel" ?

What do ye think it should be called ?

bill_ashmount

bazz26 wrote: »

Slightly off topic but frequent motorists who for example commute to and from Shannon may find it a financial strain to cough up say an additional €4 per day, 5 days a week to get to and from work on top of the already high price of car ownership in this country. Also the Jack Lynch tunnel in Cork is toll free so why not this one?

Can't believe ye will have to pay for it. I could go through the Jack Lynch tunnel up to 10 times a week and a lot more people would use it more frequently. It would be a disaster if it was tolled.

hobie

1huge1 wrote: »

Yes its the Limerick Tunnel

1:All the signs say Limerick tunnel
2:In the governments transport 21 they call it the Limerick Tunnel
3:The website is www.limericktunnel.com

That's amazing ....... I never heard it called that ....

It's a pity it doesn't go under Limerick .... it would sure solve a lot of problems .... :rolleyes:

hobie

rok wrote: »

Will it always be the Limerick Tunnel after it opens, or will they re-name it e.g "Jim Kemmy Tunnel", "Richard Harris Tunnel", "expensive Toll Tunnel" or even "Save our Heathrow Slots-Shannon Airport linkroad Tunnel" ?

What do ye think it should be called ?

I like "Richard Harris Tunnel" ......

Mind you if it causes as much trouble as poor old Jim's bridge, maybe we should just call it the "Runnel" ..... get it ....

ps. maybe they could bury that $$$$$$$ statue of RH (dressed up as $$$ knows what King) in the foundations .....

1huge1

rok wrote: »

Will it always be the Limerick Tunnel after it opens, or will they re-name it e.g "Jim Kemmy Tunnel", "Richard Harris Tunnel", "expensive Toll Tunnel" or even "Save our Heathrow Slots-Shannon Airport linkroad Tunnel" ?

What do ye think it should be called ?

Yes the jack lynch tunnel wasn't tolled but it had more of a reason not to be tolled apparently

from wikipedia

Despite the cost of its construction and operation the tunnel is not tolled. The Feasibility Study for the tunnel envisaged that the crossing could have a toll of 30 pence (in 1981 IR£)[2] (approximately €1.05 in 2007 money), but the concept of a toll was dropped after political opposition. It was felt that, because of the proximity of the tunnel to the city, the imposition of tolls would tend to encourage some drivers to avoid the tunnel and continue using the city centre streets thus minimising the benefits of the tunnel.

but also this

An immersed tube tunnel of similar length is currently under construction in Limerick[12], as part of Limerick's south ring road. The Limerick Tunnel is being constructed under a Public-Private Partnership scheme signed with Direct Route (Limerick) Ltd. and is being tolled. Limerick politicians are outraged by this, comparing the tolling to the Jack Lynch Tunnel.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Lynch_Tunnel#Tunnel_Operation