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Congestion caused by delays to Brexit border controls on trucks arriving at Dublin Port from the UK could cause a major disruption to traffic on Dublin’s motorways and roads, the state roads agency has said.
The likelihood of potential delays at the country’s busiest port has increased with two ferry operators refusing to stagger the arrival times of various ferries from Holyhead to avoid potential port congestion issues after controls begin when Brexit goes into effect on January 1.
The Port of Dublin had asked Irish Ferries and Stena Line, which have ferries arriving at around the same time four times a day, to consider spacing their arrivals in three-hour intervals to avoid delays after border checks begin. between the EU and the UK. the new Year.
Congestion
Transport Infrastructure Ireland, which manages the Dublin Port Tunnel and the state’s road network, said congestion spilling out of the port could quickly disrupt traffic to the tunnel, the adjoining M50 ring road and motorways and the road network in the Dublin region.
Stena Line has raised concerns about the location of border checkpoints and the possibility that congestion will delay the rapid response of ferries entering and leaving the port before Brexit controls begin.
Mornings are the busiest time in the port with approximately 12km of lane space for vehicles arriving at the port on four ferries from Liverpool and Holyhead in just one hour.
Approximately 6,000 heavy vehicles travel through Dublin Port every day and about 400 access the port heading south through the tunnel in the morning rush hour for traffic.
The timing of this peak traffic is determined by the sailing schedules of the ferry companies.
The proximity of the south exit of the Dublin Port Tunnel to the port allows limited reach to absorb congestion outside the port as no traffic jams are allowed in the tunnel.
TII said that if this happened, it would have to stop traffic entering the tunnel from the north and the traffic disruption could congest the nearby M50 and the routes leading to this important road artery.
“We would be concerned because we cannot have traffic stopped in the tunnel and we would have to stagger the traffic coming in and out, which could have a residual impact on the road network because that can go back to the M1 and M50,” he said. a spokesperson for the agency.
Delays
When asked about the ripple effect of congestion at the port due to ferry arrivals, the spokesman said that any traffic problems within the port would have a “ripple effect” on the road network.
“The left hand needs to know what the right is doing because we all have an impact on each other. That is why we have plans to address the potential of any problem, “he said.
The Fingal County Council said it notified TII on Wednesday that it had given the state agency permission to convert part of the long-term blue parking lot at Dublin Airport into an emergency truck parking lot to accommodate trucks in case of delays. of Brexit in the port.
The city council has given the agency permission to retain up to 250 trucks in the park and to build offices, a dining room, restrooms and showers to accommodate truckers who are late entering the port.
In response to potential Brexit-related traffic congestion in the port affecting adjacent roads, the Department for Transport has created a traffic management group that includes TII, Dublin City Council, Garda Síochána, the Company Dublin Port and Revenue Commissioners.
The department is updating an earlier contingency plan designed to manage knock-on effects on city traffic management in a no-deal Brexit scenario to take account of recent developments.
Despite an overall reduction in traffic volumes during the Covid-19 pandemic and public restrictions, heavy vehicles continue to operate at 97 percent of normal volume.
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