Dublin's long-awaited Port Tunnel to open

DUBLIN, Nov 16 (Reuters) Ireland's largest engineering project, the 750 million euro (962 million dollar) Dublin Port Tunnel, will open to traffic next month after years of delays and controversy, Dublin City Council said.

It will be the longest urban road tunnel in Europe, stretching 4.5 km (2.8 miles) under the city of more than a million people, the city council said in a statement yesterday.

Construction of the tunnel, which is intended to divert thousands of lorries each day from the city's congested streets, began in 2001 but suffered a number of setbacks including objections from residents and structural problems.

Some 21,000 vehicles a day are expected to use the tunnel -- which comprises two twin-lane routes between Dublin docks and the city's M50 motorway network -- when it opens on December 20.

While priority would be given to trucks and buses, which will be toll-free, cars and other vehicles will pay tolls of between 3 and 12 euros.

The tunnel generated controversy about both its cost and dimensions, with hauliers arguing it is too small for so-called ''supertrucks'', and caused years of disruption for motorists along its route on the north side of Dublin.

Reuters DKA GC1232