The longest city road tunnel in Europe - a.k.a. The Port Tunnel in Dublin, was offically opened on December 20th by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
Heavy goods vehicles and larger coaches will not be charged for using the tunnel. Cars and other vehicles will also use it, though they will have to pay tolls of Euro3 - Euro12 (GBP2 - GBP8), depending on the time of day.
One critique of the tunnel's appearance in the UK's The Independent caught Stalker's eye:
Although 40,000 trees and shrubs were planted around its entrances and exits, the tunnel's aesthetic appearance has not pleased everyone. A leading environmentalist, Frank McDonald, scathingly complained that its "cheap cladding" was reminiscent of "Monaghan chicken coops or mushroom tunnels".
Not exactly a big thumbs up then for the aesthetics.
Nevertheless the stats on the construction are eye-opening:
Operated by a French multi-national, the tunnel has cost Euro750m. Since work began in 2001 it has employed 5,000 construction and engineering staff who worked 7.5 million man hours. Two million tons of rock and earth were shifted during its construction.
