BMC finishes boring work for final undersea tunnel of Mumbai Coastal Road Project

The 2.07-km-long twin tunnels were dug using a Chinese Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), Mavala, named after Shivaji’s mountain warfare experts. The digging work was initiated back in January 2021, and the breakthrough of the first tunnel was achieved in January 2022. Following this, the TBM was pushed leftwards, towards the side of the northbound tunnel, by using a hydraulic-jack powered turn-table which helped in rotating the TBM by 180 degree.

The final breakthrough was carried out in the presence of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Tuesday. The portal around the breakthrough point was painted in the colours of the national flag.

Mantayya Swami, the chief engineer of MCRP, said the TBM was placed 30 centimetre behind the breakthrough point, and after CM Shinde pressed the buzzer, the spokes of the TBM moved forward cutting away the surface. It took nearly eight minutes Tuesday to cut the final 30 cm of the tunnel.

Breakthrough for 2nd underground of the twin tunnel was held at Priyadarshini Park near Breach Candy in the presence of CM Eknath Shinde and DCM Devendra Fadnavis. (Express Photo By Pradip Das)

Following the breakthrough, CM Shinde described the project as an engineering marvel.

“The MCRP is going to be the first step towards solving the city’s traffic congestion problems… This is just the first phase of the project and, in the days to come, we will expand the coastal road towards the suburbs, till Dahisar, Mira Road, and Bhayander,” Shinde said.

Meanwhile, Dy CM Fadnavis credited the Centre for the fast-paced progress of the project.

“The TBM Mavala lived up to its name. The MCRP was conceptualised years ago but it remained confined within papers and it was only after the Modi government came to power, the project got the much-needed push,” Fadnavis said Tuesday.

The 10.58-km-long MCRP is being built to ease vehicular commute in Mumbai. The high-speed corridor will connect the Marine Drive with the Bandra Worli Sea Link (BWSL) through a series of arterial roads, tunnels, and vehicular interchanges. The high point of this project is the twin tunnels that pass beneath the Arabian Sea, thus becoming India’s first undersea tunnel.

Ashwini Bhide, the additional municipal commissioner, said the road will be opened to traffic by November 2023.

“The initial deadline for commissioning the project is November 2023, by this period we are aiming to open the tunnel partially. By May 2024, the entire corridor will be opened for public use. We are working on the details of the stretch that we aim to open in the first phase and there will be clarity on this soon,” Bhide told Indian Express.

Each of the two 2.07-km-long tunnels is set to have three separate lanes of 3.2m width. The tunnels resemble the shape of the Queen’s Necklace. The entry and exit points of the tunnels will have a fibreglass facade and the BMC plans to illuminate them.