Limerick Tunnel

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The Limerick Tunnel (Tollán na Sionna in Irish) is an underwater tunnel currently under construction on the outskirts of Limerick City as part of phase 2 of the N7 Limerick Southern Ring Road. It will relieve another route, the N18, by removing traffic from the already congested Condell Road and Ennis Road.

Construction started on Phase 2 of the Limerick Southern Ring Road on 26 October 2006^[1], when the then Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen, turned the sod on the project. Phase 2 will consist of 10 km (6 miles) of dual carriageway, 11 bridges, 6 underpasses, 4 interchanges and 900m (984 yards) of tunnel under the River Shannon. The scheme will link up to the N18 Ennis Road with what will be the final junction on the N7 from Dublin. The project is expected to be completed by September 2010. It is likely to be tolled^{[citation needed]}, costing around 90c for a motorcycle, €1.70 for a car, €3.10 for a bus and €5.50 for a lorry. The tunnel project is a PPP (Public Private Partnership), and will cost roughly €660m. The actual cost to the government, however, will only be around €360m. Direct Route will operate the tunnel for 35 years.

The work is being carried out by a consortium of KBR, Strabag, John Sisk & Son (Holdings) Ltd, Lagan Holdings Ltd and Roadbridge Ltd.^[2]