Egis one of the country’s largest multi-disciplinary consultancy, engineering and operations firms, has been awarded a new contract to operate and maintain the Dublin Tunnel and the Jack Lynch Tunnel in Cork. 

The eight-year contract, which can be extended for another eight years, has been awarded to Egis in Ireland by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) following a tender process and includes the 24/7 operation of the Dublin-based Motorway Operations Control Centre (MOCC), which monitors over 1,200km of the country’s motorways. If extended to 16 years, the full contract could have a potential value of €600 million excluding VAT.

Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien attended the MOCC, joined by Pat Maher, Director of Network Management TII, and Steve Preece, CEO of Egis in Ireland, and Pierre-Yves Massille, Global CEO of Egis Consulting and Operations Business Line, to mark the signing of the contract.

The contract award marks the third successive time that Egis has won the contract to manage and operate the Dublin Tunnel, extending the company’s longstanding partnership with TII.

The latest contract places Egis Road & Tunnel Operations (ERTO) in charge of the full operational management of three nationally critical assets – the Dublin Tunnel, the Jack Lynch Tunnel and the MOCC.

Under the new agreement, Egis will oversee tolling operations and the management of toll revenue at Dublin Tunnel, while also taking responsibility for a wide range of essential services including routine and reactive maintenance, fire safety compliance, and the operation and upkeep of key infrastructure such as electrical, drainage, ventilation, and lighting systems.

Utilising the extensive resources of the MOCC and associated infrastructure distributed around the network, Egis will monitor approximately 1,200km of motorway, liaising with various service providers to ensure optimum response to incidents. In locations such as the M50, where there is near full camera coverage, Egis is tasked with incident detection and coordination of response, traffic monitoring and control and direct coordination with maintenance contractors and emergency services during incidents.

Additionally, Egis will manage calls from Ireland’s 1,600 emergency roadside telephones and be responsible for the operation of variable message signs that provide real-time information to road users across the network.

As part of the contract, Egis will align its operations with TII’s Sustainability Implementation Plan. This will include an intention to source 100% of operational energy from renewable sources from day one and continuing to transition the infrastructure to net zero.

As the current operators of the Dublin Tunnel, Egis has already implemented or is in the process of implementing a series of improvements that are designed to ensure the tunnel continues to operate to the highest standards.

A new tolling system at the Dublin Tunnel, designed by Arup and project managed by Egis, now uses laser technology and number plate recognition to process vehicles more quickly and improve traffic flow. The Dublin Tunnel’s SCADA system (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System), which monitors and controls processes and equipment, has been replaced to include the enhanced automation of functions such as temperature management and the escalation of any issues requiring the input of human controllers.

In 2022, all the lights in the Tunnel were switched to LEDs, a process that involved changing 1,800 light bulbs and resulted in a 60% reduction in light-related energy usage.

Darragh O’Brien, Minister for Transport, said:

“I am pleased to recognise the award of this contract by Transport Infrastructure Ireland to Egis in Ireland. Transport Infrastructure Ireland will oversee this contract on behalf of the state and working with Egis will continue to deliver all the services as agreed. The Dublin Tunnel, Jack Lynch Tunnel and the country’s motorway network are critical pieces of national infrastructure that contribute to improved road safety and Ireland’s economic growth and competitiveness. Egis and TII have worked together to identify and implement upgrades to improve operations and reduce emissions. This includes a series of recent upgrades at the Dublin Tunnel, which required a level of extra closures over the past year. I would like to thank all road users and stakeholders for their patience during this time and I am pleased to say that the works have now been completed and have led to improved traffic flow and enhanced monitoring systems in the Tunnel. Egis have confirmed that they are back on the regular maintenance schedule and will continue to monitor for major scheduled public events taking place, so that tunnel closures do not coincide.”

Steve Preece, CEO of Egis in Ireland, said:

“We are delighted to have won the contract to operate, maintain and oversee these vital pieces of national infrastructure. We have been stewards of the Dublin Tunnel since 2006 and we are acutely aware of the need to ensure it operates and is maintained to the highest standards. We have just completed a series of upgrades to the Dublin Tunnel, and we are confident this will ensure it remains a critical part of both the city’s road network and of the country’s economic system. We apply the same high standards to the maintenance and operation of the Jack Lynch Tunnel and to monitoring the country’s motorway network. We would like to thank Transport Infrastructure Ireland for choosing us as their partners and we look forward to continuing our work for the agency.”

Pat Maher, Director of Network Management TII, said:

“We congratulate Egis in Ireland on this contact award and look forward to working with them over the next eight years. Egis has proved to be an effective partner for TII and shares our commitment to operating and maintaining a safe and efficient national road network to the highest-quality and sustainability standard.”