Construction BUSINESS

Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) has consented to excavating tunnels deeper into the ground during the Metrolink construction to mitigate potential damage to city center buildings.

The Metrolink project, slated to commence next year with an estimated cost ranging between €9 billion and €23 billion, will span from the city’s southside to the airport and beyond.

Two companies with properties on the southside contested today that tunnel plans beneath their buildings are unreliable and should be discarded. They argued that these plans were formulated based on previous structures at the same locations.

A series of tunnels are planned underground as part of the rail stretch between Ballymun, situated on the northside of the city, and the terminus stop, Charlemont, located to the south.

During a Dublin planning hearing, Irish Life and Hines Real Estate made submissions to An Bord Pleánala regarding TII’s damage assessment reports concerning potential risks to their properties.

Legal representatives for both entities asserted that TII’s reports should be invalidated as they were based on “ghost buildings” – plans of structures previously demolished at the sites. These demolitions occurred four and 11 years ago, respectively. However, the current buildings now have two-story basements, a factor not considered by TII.

TII proposed alterations under a substantial list of potential mitigation measures, including lowering the tunnels further into the ground.

While TII’s representatives claimed unawareness of changes at the Cadenza building owned by Irish Life, barristers for Irish Life asserted that the plans were approved in 2018 and the drawings had been accessible online since then.

Regarding Hines’ building on St Stephen’s Green, TII indicated modifications to its plans based on recent information received.

Representatives from Metrolink maintained the validity of the damage reports but did not confirm whether the demolished buildings were considered during the report drafting.

Redrawn plans, showing tunnels lowered at least five meters further into the ground, were presented to the companies.

TII committed to publishing updated plans regarding tunnelling under the Cadenza Building on Wednesday.

In a separate development, concerns were raised by the Office of Public Works (OPW) regarding potential damage to St Stephen’s Green during the underground rail system’s construction. This included apprehensions about relocating the Famine Memorial and Wolfe Tone Monument, fixtures in the park since the 1960s. TII refuted claims of any demolition in the park.