In early March, the Irish Minister for Housing and Urban Renewal, Noel Ahern, announced US$4.5M of funding for the 240m long service tunnel under the river Liffey as part of the Dublin Docklands Water and Drainage Scheme.
Ahern said his department had given Dublin City Council approval to invite tenders for the construction of the 2.5m diameter tunnel that will be sited close to the Eastlink Toll Bridge. The segmentally lined tunnel will transfer wastewater from the north docklands area to a new treatment plant at Ringsend. The tunnel will also carry district heating pipes, gas mains, electrical and telecommunication cables.
Consultancy firm Atkins carried out engineering design works for the tunnel construction a couple of years ago including geotechnical reports, design reports and risk assessments, drawings, specifications and contract documents. When T&TI spoke to an Atkins representative following Ahern’s statement, they said they were not aware of the announcement, despite their work originally being intended to follow through to the construction phase.
Commissioned by Dublin City Council, Atkins considered diameters ranging from 1.8m to 2.5m for the tunnel through black boulder clay, although they said their preference had been for a 2.1m diameter tunnel. The tunnel would be driven from an existing 22m deep temporary drive shaft remaining from earlier works. This would be permanently lined and a permanent reception shaft would be sunk on the opposite side of the river.
The scheme will provide water and sewerage services for housing units and commercial development in the Docklands area and it is hoped it will boost revitalisation efforts for the area. Ahern said: “the approval of the contract documents clears the way for Dublin City Council to immediately seek tenders for the construction of the New River Liffey tunnel and I will be urging the council to press ahead with this as quickly as possible.” Unfortunately, T&TI was told that two weeks after Ahern’s statement, the relevant parties in Dublin City Council also remained unaware of his decision and announcement.
