[Article] Crashes force CIE to raise bridge above Tunnel height

Victor

If I understand correctly, the work on the bridge is now complete.

Crashes force CIE to raise bridge above Tunnel height
30/03/03 00:00
By Niamh Connolly
http://www.thepost.ie/web/DocumentView/did-828972759-pageUrl--2FHome.asp

A north Dublin railway bridge - built to the same 4.6 metre clearance height as the Dublin Port Tunnel - was struck 104 times by trucks over the past 18 years, according to Iarnrod Éireann statistics.

Lorries struck the East Wall Road bridge close to Dublin port 53 times over the past four years. The bridge was reconstructed at a cost of €20 million by the state company. It was re-opened to heavy goods vehicles last week with an increased clearance height of 5.3 metres, the same height sought for the Dublin Port Tunnel.

John Whelan, chief executive of the Irish Exporters Association, said the railway bridge was upgraded for safety reasons, yet Dublin City Council continued with the 4.6 metre port tunnel. "IarnrodÉireann has listed 90 bridges on its website as part of its ongoing safety campaign,warning of height clearances of less than 5.05 metres on these bridges," Whelan said.

A campaignto raise the height of the port tunnel is being waged by hauliers, including Gwynedd Shipping director Austin Gilligan.

Gwynedd has a fleet of over 600 trucks operating across Ireland and Britain. Only 10 per cent of them will be unable to use the tunnel.

The association claims the move to higher trucks in Britain resultedina 15 per cent overall reduction in heavy vehicle movement. A study by Professor Alan McKinnon at Edinburgh's Heriot-Watt University showed that a 5 metre clearance in Britain delivered cost savings of €340 million to the haulage industry. It also reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 500,000 tonnes yearly.

"We are trying to ensure higher cube vehicles on roads for competitive reasons, but unless we also encourage more efficient use of vehicles we will not honour our Kyoto obligations, and taxpayers will bear the brunt," said Whelan.

However, Dublin City Council's director of traffic, Owen Keegan, has "no enthusiasm" for h igh capacity trucks.

"There seems to be a view that we should just lie back and allow bigger and bigger trucks onto our roads. There may well be a case for reintroducing height limits," he said.

Figures revealed by The Sunday Business Post from a new National Transport and Logistics study commissioned by the Irish Exporters Association show 5 per cent, or 500 trucks daily, leaving the ferries at Dublin port exceeded the 4.65 metres. The figures reopened debate over the number of vehicles unable to use the tunnel.

The Council stands over its estimates that an average 2.5 per cent of all trucks will be affected when all traffic entering and leaving the port is included. But exporters believe the height of the vehicles exiting the ferries is indicative of trends. They predict 10 per cent or 1,000 trucks daily will exceed the limit in ten years.

The NITL study concluded that the tunnel's height could be raised by 25 centimetres without any additional cost to the Exchequer, by lifting overhead ventilation and lights. Dublin City Council insists this would cost €20 million.