The €660 million Limerick Southern Bypass Phase 2 was officially opened to traffic in July 2010 in a ceremony conducted by Taoiseach Brian Cowen and Minister of Transport Noel Demsey.
The key element of the 9.75 km project is a 600 meter tunnel under the Shannon River. This scheme was developed as a PPP (public-private partnership) project by Direct Route Ltd which has a 35 year design-build-operate concession. The initial toll will be €1.80 for cars.
Durango Browne (as a subconsultant to the RPS Consulting Engineers, the State's engineering representative for the project) provided planning phase advisory services related to toll systems, sitting of toll plazas and traffic revenue ( click to see Limerick Ring Road project ).