Cork Tunnel to close by night

discostu1

Headline in Tomorrows Examiner just saw it on Vincent Brownes show
Presume this is the Jack Lynch tunnel anyone got any more details ???

dodger50

Is it more than the recurring "planned routine maintenance" event?
http://www.corkcity.ie/news/publicnotices2011/mainbody,45575,en.html

H8GHOTI

Can't find the article but this is the front page. If it's true, it'll be a pain in the hole.


According to this it is only 3 nights:
http://www.jacklynchtunnel.ie/plannedtunnelclosures/

PrzemoF

It will be some kind of fire-proofing, so definitely more than the regular maintenance, but I can't find any details. Anyone with more info?

Ludo

Here is the story:

http://www.examiner.ie/ireland/busy-city-tunnel-to-close-at-night-158879.html

No big deal really....although combined with the start of construction of the Bandon Road and Sarsfield Road flyovers this autumn, it will certainly add to journey times for people travelling at night.

blindsider

From The Examiner:

The National Roads Authority (NRA) confirmed last night that the multimillion-euro project at the Jack Lynch Tunnel will close it completely for 11 hours each weekday night from October until March 2012.

The Dublin Port Tunnel is compliant with the regulations, but the busy Cork tunnel, which was opened in May 1999, is not.

NRA spokesman Sean O’Neill said that the "fire protection upgrade" would necessitate both the tunnel’s bores being closed every weekday night. Work could proceed more quickly if the tunnel was closed all day, but the NRA and gardaí are aware this would lead to major gridlock in the city.

Tunnel manager Dan O’Neill said that in excess of 65,000 vehicles pass through it on an average weekday.

However, he said that between 8pm and 7am just 8,000 vehicles used the tunnel, so closing it then would cause much less disruption.

The NRA said the closures would apply on Mondays to Fridays and the tunnel would remain open throughout the weekend.

"The closures will be modified if there are any major events etc which have to be catered for," Mr O’Neill said. He added that talks are ongoing between the roads authority, gardaí, the two local authorities and the fire brigade to co-ordinate the operation.

The work will involve putting up special flame retardant cladding to protect the tunnel structure if a major fire breaks out.

Meanwhile, the contract for two long-awaited flyovers on the city’s South Ring Road was signed yesterday. The flyovers, at the Bandon Road and Sarsfield’s Road roundabouts, will cost €100 million.

It is expected that construction will start before the end of the summer and take about two years to complete. Engineers believe that the flyovers, including the one already built at the Kinsale Road junction, could cut motorists’ peak-time journeys by up to 30 minutes.

Read more: http://www.examiner.ie/ireland/busy-city-tunnel-to-close-at-night-158879.html#ixzz1QBBBuXDL

GavRedKing

Thats going to be inconvient for anyone that uses the tunnel at night sending them into the city and around, adding about 5,10 mins onto their journey time.

If they are going to close both bores of the tunnel and have two teams working on each tunnel would it not be better to close one bore at a time and have two teams working on one bore together and keep the other open?

Should take the same amount of time or is this just the easy way of looking at the engineering behind it all??

gbee

gavredking wrote: »

Thats going to be inconvient for anyone that uses the tunnel at night sending ?

It's not that much of a bother as long as one remembers and does not drive all the way to the Mahon exit and have to take the detour at that stage.

Or indeed come out to Mahon to use the tunnels and have to turn around and negotiate a huge circle back again.

It would also be nice if all those traffic lights in the city would speed up a bit too, with all the additional 'small' lights going up at every junctions this city has become a zombie zone that efficiently works to collect and trap traffic.

The recent incidents during the City Marathon should open a few eyers for planners and engineers, there is evidently a two tier traffic management approach and no cooperation between them, so when a major artery is closed and the traffic channelled into the sub systems, even with light traffic, it cannot progress.

54kroc

They should do one bore at a time ffs, is there a reason they don't?
Can't wait for the new flyovers.

SeaFields

Once it doesnt lead to us having to pay to use it! Still tho what a bloody joke. Closing it for six months. :rolleyes:

Bring on the flyovers tho. Hopefully they will create employment locally too. And if they could just sort the Cork to macroom road too with overtaking lanes or something.

Bloody Nipples

At night it'd be easy enough to just go in through town instead. You'd be back on the link in no time.

H8GHOTI

That's a good idea about keeping one bore open. They did it before with bollards between the lanes. One lane going east, one west. There must be some reason for not doing it.
Going from say Little Island or Glanmire to Ballincollig or Wilton won't be too bad through town but if you wanted to go to the cinema in mahon point that would be very annoying.
I wonder will it have much affect on business?

Daegerty

Planned routine installation of ANPR & tag-based toll system?

GavRedKing

The only thing that I'm complaining about is that I train in Glanmire for soccer Tue and Thur night at 9pm and I'd be leaving to get to training from Jacobs Island, about 1000metres from the Tunnel, so for me to go through town is a huge inconvience.

I know I'm only one person but I imagine there will be a lot of people forced into the city to get to the north side from down around here and Rochestown and surronding areas.

Its more frustrating then anything.

-Corkie-

What a joke. What are they fireproofing anyway???

If the tunnel goes on fire just pull out the drain plug..:)

Outkast_IRE

-Corkie- wrote: »

What a joke. What are they fireproofing anyway???

If the tunnel goes on fire just pull out the drain plug..:)

I think there was film made about your ideas i believe it was called daylight , i believe it ended quite well if i recall correctly.

bertie1

I don't understand why they cannot do one bore first & they the other . The tunnell is still busy by night. Especially in winter time , Mahon point & douglas open until late for x Mass shopping all traffic now will have to go into the City to get across the river . Ridiculous

Blitzkrieger

Yup - going through the city is not as quick as everyone makes out. I often do the trip around 10pm when tunnel is closed and it adds 20 minutes to my journey.

Plus loads of stress from all the plonkers who've completely forgotten how to navigate the city since before the tunnel opened.....

dodger50

-Corkie- wrote: »

What a joke. What are they fireproofing anyway???

If the tunnel goes on fire just pull out the drain plug..:)

Spot on.
These closures have been an un welcome feature of Jack Lynch Tunnel since it opened and for me at least, nobody ever properly explained why the Cork tunnel has to close every 3 months for 3 nights to clean lights etc while every other tunnel in the civlilized (and indeed "unciviliized" ie Dublin) world has to close once a year at most. Fireproofing a tunnel of this length is like p**s**g on the Towering Inferno. It's frankly, a bloody joke.
Who's paying for this cladding work?
Give us a break.
And, if all comes to all, the suggestions by cork45 about one bore closing at a time are so blindingly obvious that they are sure to be ignored!
Sadly, this is another example of how accepting we have become of stupidity. . . . . . .IMHO

Padraig Mor

bertie1 wrote: »

I don't understand why they cannot do one bore first & they the other . The tunnell is still busy by night. Especially in winter time , Mahon point & douglas open until late for x Mass shopping all traffic now will have to go into the City to get across the river . Ridiculous

I seriously doubt they will be working on both bores at the same time. I'd imagine they just couldn't be bothered keeping one open.

edit: and yes, when the tunnel is currently closed overnight there is often severe congestion on the Lower Glanmire Rd.

deRanged

the tunnel closures are going to be a complete pain in the ass. the roads through town just can't cope with the volume of traffic anymore.

Outkast_IRE

they stated that if they were to do one bore at a time it would take longer and the costs could as much as quadruple!! dont ask me how they came up with that figure they were on radio on today fm on fri i think.

SandStone

gbee wrote: »

It would also be nice if all those traffic lights in the city would speed up a bit too, with all the additional 'small' lights going up at every junctions this city has become a zombie zone that efficiently works to collect and trap traffic.

"Small lights"?

The recent incidents during the City Marathon should open a few eyers for planners and engineers, there is evidently a two tier traffic management approach and no cooperation between them, so when a major artery is closed and the traffic channelled into the sub systems, even with light traffic, it cannot progress.

What?

Ardennes1944

yes, it will be a 'balls' but if something was ever to happen and it emerged that if proper fireproofing couldve stopped it ye'd be nagging about why it wasnt done. its the EU whos instigating it all anyway afaik

kub

The whole thing is a joke FFS, if it was a private company then one bore would be open while the other was been worked on. Its just typical public service, no one makes a decision so that they can be blamed.

So the tunnel closes at night, very convenient for the lads to run in the cables and install the cameras for the tunnel tolling. Or may be not, that would only make sense, sur when the fire proofing is finished, they can close it again for this job.

In fairness it is going to happen, but why don't they just be honest now and say it. Some thing has to pay for the flyovers.

Padraig Mor

Was suggested to me that they need to close both bores as they will be working in the escape tunnel between both bores - could make sense.

kub

Padraig Mor wrote: »

Was suggested to me that they need to close both bores as they will be working in the escape tunnel between both bores - could make sense.

Thanks Padraig that does make sense in fairness.

Needler

You wouldn't believe it but there are actually terraced houses inside the tunnel on either side. The residents were complaining there was too much noise so they have to close it at night till they get the specialised soundproofing required

kub

Needler wrote: »

You wouldn't believe it but there are actually terraced houses inside the tunnel on either side. The residents were complaining there was too much noise so they have to close it at night till they get the specialised soundproofing required

Ahh Needler that is what they call tunnel vision