The joint venture of Nishimatsu, Mowlem and Irishenco that built the Dublin Port Tunnel, opened just over a year ago, is being sued in a joint action by two Irish state bodies over alleged systems failures that have forced its closure four times in the last few months.
The consortium was officially notified near the end of February of the joint legal action being planned by two Irish state bodies, the National Roads Authority (NRA), which has overall responsibility for the structure, and Dublin City Council, which has charge of the contract.
The state bodies said in a letter that despite repeated assurances received about the tunnel systems there had been “a number of significant equipment malfunctions” since the handover of the tunnel, just over a year ago. They claim that the consortium has failed to remedy them.
The letter, sent 27 February, added: “We put you on notice that we are taking legal action to recover all the costs arising from deficiencies in the equipment that you have provided.”
The tunnel closures, in one case for a full day, caused traffic chaos across Dublin, forcing heavy trucks back on to the streets, and seriously disrupting business.
There was no comment from the JV concerning the threatened legal action, which will have to be resolved in the Irish High Court if a behind-the-scenes settlement is not reached.
The consortium is still seeking payments from Dublin City Council of up to US$154M for completion of the 4.5km tunnel. The claim, which is disputed, is still in arbitration.
Dublin Port Tunnel was opened at the end of 2006. The twin tunnels were built by 2.6km bores and the balance in cut and cover. Work started on the toll tunnel project in 2001. The project was built to take most HGVs travelling to and from the port off the roads, and within minutes be on the city’s outer roads (T&TI, January 2007, p10).
