Enigineers working on the Dublin Port Tunnel in Ireland, have defended allegations from local opposition pressure groups that the tunnel’s construction has caused subsidence beneath nearby rail lines halting commuter services.
Two commuter lines were disrupted on 17 December 2002. According to local press, residents demanded that work be stopped on the Dublin Port Tunnel, claiming that “the tunnelling method is on a trial and error basis”.
A piqued David Lawrence, project director for KBR, told T&TI that there is no proof of a link between the tunnel and the subsidence saying the Dublin Port Tunnel is “some kilometres away”, and his engineers have been on local television and radio, trying to scotch these suggestions.
Attention has been drawn to an associated pipe arch bridge being construction by Nishimatsu. Running under the railway line, 35 pipes support a 200m2 profile, which are monitored constantly. “We cannot see any association between the bridge and the subsidence… there is no movement whatsoever,” Lawrence said.
Lawrence also said there were other construction works on the line that could be responsible for the subsidence, including a project to put in overhead cables, and a new bridge.
