Motorists looking to bypass Limerick City could shave about 20 minutes off their journey at peak times after a new tunnel under the River Shannon opened in July this year.

The 605 million euro project is the length of five football pitches, and was constructed with the help of 15,000m2 of 18mm SmartPly OSB3. Cars are tolled €1.80 each way, and it is estimated that up to 20,000 cars a day will be taken off Limerick's streets, although the tunnel has the capacity for 40,000.

Opening the tunnel, Taoiseach Brian Cowen said it was a historic crossing and described it as a key element in the state's national road infrastructure. He said: "More than 1.4 billion euro will be spent this year on our national, regional and local road infrastructure. This level of investment provides a much-needed fiscal stimulus around the country and also helps maintain thousands of jobs."

The 675m tunnel took four years to complete and finished ahead of schedule. Capita Symonds design for the tunnel called for a completely flat timber platform on which the concrete formwork for the tunnel base would be constructed. Precision was an essential requirement as with such exact engineering, deviation of even a few millimetres would cause problems. After assessment and evaluation, German construction company Strabag International selected Waterford based and FSC certified OSB from manufacturer SmartPly (part of Coillte Panel Products) over other panel product alternatives. Their specification was tested and met with Capita Symonds approval. Thousands of stainless steel screws attached the 15,000m2 of 18mm SmartPly OSB3 to the under-side of the concrete base elements of the tunnel where the structural SmartPly OSB3 took the weight of the concrete during construction.

The SmartPly OSB panels are now permanently beneath the completed tunnel on the river-bed, where, with their unique task complete, the non-toxic panels will safely degrade over time.

Mr. Uli Holt, commercial manager for Strabag says "In this tunnel base application, SmartPly OSB met all our needs in respect of both our quality and cost requirements. The structural capability of the product was vital. We have been impressed with SmartPly’s technical performance and intend to use it again on our future projects." 

10 September 2010