The Limerick Tunnel is a 675m long, twin-bore road tunnel underneath the River Shannon

River Shannon

The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland at . It divides the west of Ireland from the east and south . County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception...

 on the outskirts of Limerick City. The tunnel forms part of the N18 Limerick Southern Ring Road. The tunnel is tolled.

Construction was carried out by a consortium of Strabag

Strabag

Strabag is a European construction company based in Villach, with its headquarters in Vienna, Austria). It is the largest construction company in Austria and one of the largest construction companies in Europe...

, John Sisk & Son Ltd

John SISK

John SISK & Sons founder was born in Cork in 1837, the same year as Victoria became Queen of Britain and Ireland. His childhood was a time of severe crisis for Ireland including the national disaster of the Great Famine during which, by death and emigration, the population declined by two...

, Lagan Holdings Ltd and Roadbridge Ltd. Dredging work for the tunnel trench was carried out by Dutch company Van Oord. The Austrian EFKON Group, will commission, build and operate two toll collection locations, one ten lane and one six lane plaza. Both plazas will be manned and it is estimated that the two plazas will handle the traffic. The immersion process of floating the tunnel elements out into the Shannon was carried out by another Dutch company, Mergor. A pedestrian open day was held on the 19 June 2010, with official opening to traffic by the Taoiseach

Taoiseach

The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...

, Brian Cowen

Brian Cowen

Brian Cowen is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 7 May 2008 to 9 March 2011. He was head of a coalition government led by Fianna Fáil which until 23 January 2011 had the support of the Green Party and independent TDs.Cowen was also leader of Fianna Fáil from 7 May...

, on Tuesday 27 July 2010 (two months ahead of schedule).
Total cost of construction was €660 million.

See also

• Jack Lynch Tunnel
  Jack Lynch Tunnel
  The Jack Lynch Tunnel is an immersed tube tunnel and an integral part of the N25 southern ring road of Cork in Ireland. It is named after former Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, a native of Cork....
  
  
• Dublin Port Tunnel
  Dublin Port Tunnel
  The Dublin Port Tunnel is a road traffic tunnel in Dublin, Ireland, that forms part of the M50 motorway....
  
  
• Atlantic Corridor
  Atlantic Corridor
  The Atlantic Corridor is a road project in Ireland that eventually will link Waterford in the South-East to Letterkenny in the North-West by high-quality dual carriageway or motorway. A major infrastructure project, the scheme was announced as part of the Transport 21 project launch in 2005, and is...
  
  
• Roads in Ireland
  Roads in Ireland
  The island of Ireland, comprising Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, has an extensive network of tens of thousands of kilometres of public roads, usually surfaced. These roads have been developed and modernised over centuries, from trackways suitable only for walkers and horses, to...