Lee tunnel takes Hazchem trucks
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m Trucks carrying hazardous chemical loads will have unrestricted access to the new Lee tunnel in Ireland—contrary to reports that Hazchem loads are either banned or will have to await convoys through the new underwater tunnel which has opened near Cork city.
Tunnel project engineer Finbarr Long says: "If a load is safe enough to travel on the roads, it's safe enough to travel through the tunnel."
For truckers heading south through Cork the tunnel has cut the journey through the city from an hour to less than 10 minutes.
Maximum speed in the twolane tunnel is 50mph. Vertical clearance is 4.9m but there is a height limit of 4.25m for commercial loads.
The 610m tunnel completes an essential link in Cork's ring road system: the National Roads Authority says there are no plans to introduce tolling.
Tunnel construction cost IR£B0m while the approach roads cost another 111£25m.