Jack Lynch Tunnel to close for four nights this week

The Jack Lynch Tunnel is set to fully close for the first four nights of this week, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) has said.

The tunnel will close for essential maintenance from 9pm until 4am each night from Monday, January 6, until Thursday, January 9.

These closures will see the tunnel closed completely, with traffic diversions in place.

A TII spokesperson said the closures were quarterly events scheduled for "standard maintenance" and the commissioning of upgraded tunnel systems.

The tunnel had 67 overnight closures from January 2024 until last November, according to figures released to Pádraig O’Sullivan, Fianna Fáil TD for Cork North Central, with that number estimated to rise to 75 by the end of the year — marking a 70% increase on 2023, when the tunnel had 44 such closures.

The TII figures listed 46 of the tunnel closures as being for ‘projects full closure’, with nine being for ‘planned maintenance’, and six listed as relating to closure of the southern bore.

Among the reasons listed for the closures, 38 are ‘MV/LV’, which stands for medium voltage/low voltage, and refers to the replacement of the tunnel’s original power supply equipment.

Five closures related to CCTV and network upgrades, while seven are related to the Dunkettle Interchange Upgrade Scheme.

In November, a TII spokesperson said that with the tunnel 25 years old, “the number of key tunnel systems that require to be replaced has significantly increased over the past few years.

“We anticipate that there will be some additional closures at Jack Lynch Tunnel for the next few years while key tunnel systems are being replaced or upgraded.

“All this work is part and parcel of keeping the Jack Lynch Tunnel fully up to date with all modern equipment to maintain optimal functionality.”