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There are spaces for up to 750 trucks at motorway service stops, on roads and in emergency truck parks if post-Brexit border checks in January lead to Dublin Port being closed to traffic.
The Department of Transport has introduced a new color-coded system to manage potential congestion at the port if traffic spills due to new post-Brexit controls.
Across the Irish Sea, the Welsh government has warned that between 40 and 70 per cent of carriers arriving at Holyhead, a key port for Irish traffic to and from Dublin, could be turned away at worst of cases due to not having the correct customs documentation after Brexit. The government has said that rejected trucks could peak in mid-January and that new border controls in Dublin could delay travel, leading to a backlog of trucks at Holyhead.
“Continued uncertainty over border infrastructure, including the long-term site location for inbound carriers from Ireland, which will be used when more border controls are introduced late next year, has impacted the planning process,” said the Welsh government.
In Dublin, traffic regulations prohibit stopped traffic in the port tunnel, meaning that heavy vehicle access to the port could be closed if Brexit border controls inside the port lead to traffic jams.
The proximity of the tunnel exit to the south of the port and traffic restrictions increase the likelihood of possible traffic congestion due to new controls within the port. The new signs will inform truck drivers if delays are causing a “red” alert in port traffic and if congestion outside the port affects the port tunnel, access highways and city roads.
Under a “red status” traffic advisory, up to 100 trucks will be “stacked” on a two-lane slip road from the M50 to the M1 southbound to the tunnel and possibly back to the Ballymun exit.
A worst-case “blue” alert will tell drivers the port is closed to traffic and direct trucks to emergency parking for up to 250 trucks in part of Dublin Airport’s long-term blue parking lot if the Congestion is so severe that no more trucks can pile up on the highway routes to the tunnel.
The status “green” will mean normal traffic in and around the port, while “amber” will mean congestion at the port, requiring “metering” of trucks heading south through the tunnel to the port.
In the event that there is no traffic in Dublin Port, a new return facility at the southern exit of the tunnel will allow trucks to return north through the tunnel, away from the port.
Pat Maher, director of network management for Transport Infrastructure Ireland, the state agency that manages the road and tunnel network, said “prolonged” congestion at the port rather than the number of trucks would “activate” a “red” status. or “blue”. ” alert.
“From a red status perspective, once the congestion leaves the port onto East Wall Road and begins to affect [tunnel] toll plaza, that’s the trigger, ”he said.
Sharp increase
There have been no red status alerts at the port this year, and only one last year.
It’s still unclear what the scale of post-Brexit border controls on goods moving to and from Britain will mean for traffic heading to the port. Starting on January 1, the number of container and truck trailer units that will be subject to new controls will rise from 200,000 to 1.1 million a year.
“The big question mark here for us is what the traffic impact of Brexit will be and how it is handled within state yards and terminals,” said John Fairley, Dublin Port Company’s manager of ground operations.
Department official Eddie Burke said there will be problems in January as people adjust to new customs and traffic procedures at the port as Brexit takes effect. He doesn’t expect the state’s largest port to be “too busy” in the first week or two of 2021 as some businesses have piled up to prepare for possible delays after Brexit.
“The risks will be higher in the early stages of Brexit as people get used to the system,” he said.
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