County: Dublin Site name: HIGH-VOLTAGE EAST–WEST INTERCONNECTOR PROJECT, various townlands
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 10E0154
Author: Martin E. Byrne, Byrne Mullins & Associates, 7 Cnoc Na Greine Square, Kilcullen, Co. Kildare.
Site type: Monitoring
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 726771m, N 754937m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.529084, -6.087853
The high-voltage cable – east–west interconnector project (HVC EWIP) comprises the laying of a high-voltage direct current east–west interconnector between Ireland and Wales, consisting of a sub-sea cable installed beneath the Irish seabed from the 12 nautical mile limit to an underground transition joint to be located in the carpark at North Beach Rush, Co. Dublin, and an underground high-voltage direct current cable section from the underground transition joint in the said carpark to an existing 400kV station in the townland of Woodland, Co. Meath (total 44.2km).
The development also comprises the construction of a new converter station located adjacent the existing ESB 400kV substation at Woodland, Co. Meath, and a 400kV cable bay to be constructed at the existing Woodland substation and all associated works.
In general, the two power cables will be installed in ducts and laid in a trench c. 1.2m deep and c. 1m wide, with a third duct containing a fibre optic cable, primarily to control the operation of the interconnector. Such works will be largely undertaken along roads/grass verges and occasionally within greenfield areas in the following townlands of Co. Dublin: Rush, Whitestown, Rogerstown, Balleally East, Balleally West, Newhaggard, Corduff Common, Corduff Hall, Corduff, Thomondtown, Richardstown, Gracedieu, Roscall, Mainscourt, Grange, Ballyboghill, Murragh, Westpalstown, Leastown, Oldtown, Wyanstown, Browncross, Cottrelstown, Nutstown, Wyestown, Ballymadun and Glebe.
All works within greenfield areas or within 50m of recorded monuments require full-time monitoring, while all other works along roads are subject to occasional monitoring. Works in County Dublin commenced in late July 2010. To date, a number of flint artifacts (arrowhead, possible blades), together with medieval and post-medieval pottery sherds have been recovered during topsoil-stripping of fields immediately to the north of Rogerstown Estuary (east of the Dublin–Belfast railway line). Furthermore, some post-medieval pottery sherds and clay-pipe stems have been recovered from trench excavations along roads and from the village of Rush. In addition, a possible cereal-drying kiln was uncovered in Rogerstown (see Site No. 291 below).
Cable-trench excavations are scheduled to continue until early summer 2011.
