The Limerick Tunnel () is a , immersed tube tunnel underneath the
River Shannon
The River Shannon ( or archaic ') is the major river on the island of Ireland, and at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of I ...
on the outskirts of
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...
city. The tunnel forms part of the
N18 Limerick Southern Ring Road. The tunnel is tolled.
Construction
Construction was carried out by a consortium of
Strabag,
John Sisk & Son Ltd, Lagan Holdings Ltd and Roadbridge Ltd. Traffic and Transportation planning was undertaken by Colin Buchannan and Partners. Dredging work for the tunnel trench was carried out by Dutch company Van Oord. The immersion process of floating the tunnel elements out into the Shannon was carried out by another Dutch company, Mergor.
The total cost of construction was €660 million.
Opening
A pedestrian open day was held on 19 June 2010, with official opening to traffic by the
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
,
Brian Cowen
Brian Bernard Cowen (born 10 January 1960) is an Irish former politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 2008 to 2011. Cowen served as a TD for the constituency of Laois–Offaly from 1984 to 2011 and served in several ...
, on 27 July 2010, two months ahead of schedule.
Tolling
The Austrian EFKON Group commissioned, built and currently operate two toll collection locations, one ten-lane and one six-lane plaza, both staffed.
The tolling locations are both north of the Shannon. One is between junctions 3 and 4 of the N18, and the other is between N18 junction 3 and the Clonmacken Roundabout.
See also
*
Jack Lynch Tunnel
The Jack Lynch Tunnel () is an immersed tube tunnel and an integral part of the N40 road network in Cork, Ireland. It is named after former Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, a native of Cork.
It takes the road under the River Lee. North of the tunne ...
, on the N40 southern ring road of
Cork
*
Dublin Port Tunnel
*
Atlantic Corridor
The Atlantic corridor or Atlantic motorway is a proposed road project in Ireland. The scheme, announced in 2005, was intended to link Waterford in the South-East to Letterkenny in the North-West via motorway or dual carriageway by 2015. Howev ...
, ongoing construction of major roads along the west side of Ireland
*
Roads in Ireland
The island of Ireland, comprising Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, has an extensive network of tens of thousands of kilometres of public roads, usually surfaced. These roads have been developed and modernised over centuries, from ...
References
Road tunnels in the Republic of Ireland
Buildings and structures in Limerick (city)
Roads in County Limerick
Tunnels completed in 2010
River Shannon
Toll tunnels in Europe
Immersed tube tunnels in Ireland
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