THE proposed Dublin Port Tunnel is likely to be held up for at least months as a result of a decision by the City Council to defer its pending an environmental impact statement (EIS).
It was also learned yesterday from sources close to the project that the cost of the largely tunnelled four lane motorway linking with Dublin Port is now put at million - £30 million more than the original estimate.
The revised estimate is simply for the road itself and does not include a bridge over the River Liffey which would be necessary to avoid massive traffic congestion in the north port. This is likely to cost a further £15 million.
The escalating price of the Dublin Port Tunnel brings it closer to the figure of £200 million suggested last year by Professor Simon Perry, dean of the school of engineering at Trinity College, as the true cost of the project.
Last Monday, the City Council - was to approve a "variation" to the Dublin City Development Plan to permit the port access route to proceed. But the councillors decided not to approve it until they had first considered the EIS.
This study is not expected to be finalised until the end of April, at the earliest. The councillors could take three months to consider it, after which the variation would have to be publicly exhibited for a further three months.
Mr John Gormley, the former Green Party Lord Mayor, said his group had always believed that an east west port access route would be better. It also queried the safety of the construction method to be used for the proposed tunnel.
"Some councillors are running scared because they realise that people are not prepared to accept roads willy nilly any more. And there can be no doubt that this plan is a Trojan horse for the controversial Eastern Bypass motorway".
One source suggested that some of the councillors did not want to have to deal with such a "hot potato" as the port tunnel and would prefer if it was taken over entirely by the National Roads Authority, which has proposed the project.
