Changing City: An underground road project will seamlessly connect east, west coasts of south Mumbai

The first urban underground road project, 40 metre below ground level, from Orange Gate to Marine Drive, aims to provide a seamless road-based transit system with just 10 minutes of driving distance connecting the eastern freeway exit with the coastal road.

Larsen and Toubro will be implementing the project, marked here as the yellow-coloured route.

4 min readMumbaiSep 18, 2023 07:21 PM IST First published on: Sep 15, 2023 at 07:00 AM IST

Mumbai’s first urban underground road tunnel project between Orange Gate and Marine Drive in south Mumbai is a significant infrastructure development aimed at addressing traffic congestion. It will also enhance signal free connectivity between the east and west coasts of Mumbai via Eastern Freeway, MTHL, Coastal Road and the Bandra Worli Sealink.

The city is having two road tunnels one part of existing Eastern Freeway passing through a mountain and the other is part of upcoming coastal road project passing below sea. Both tunnels made through a greenfield alignment. Whereas the Orange Gate to Marine Drive tunnel will be passing below the Urban roads that sees huge traffic throughout the day. Interestingly, the alignment will be passing from below the lifeline of Mumbaikar’s railways, metro, utilities etc.

Project Purpose

The project is proposed to alleviate traffic congestion in south Mumbai, particularly around Orange Gate, which has become a challenge for the Mumbai Port Trust and the Main Post Office square on P D’ Mello Marg, which will further increase due to the upcoming Mumbai Trans Harbour Sea link (MTHL) connecting JNPT.

Project Implementing Authority

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is responsible for implementing the project.

Contractor

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has been selected as the contractor for the project.

The project involves the construction of twin tunnels with a total length of 6.5 km.

Alignment and Tunnel Length

Total length of alignment 9.5 km. The project involves the construction of twin tunnels with a total length of 6.5 km.

The left-hand side tunnel for southbound traffic is 4.5 km long, while the right-hand side tunnel for northbound traffic is 2 km long.

The tunnels will pass beneath railways, underground Metros, existing roads, heritage buildings and other infrastructure, with depths of up to 40 metre below the ground level.

Connectivity

The project will provide direct connectivity to several key transportation routes, including:

Eastern Freeway
Mumbai Trans Harbour Sea Link (MTHL)
Coastal Road
Sewri-Worli Connector
Bandra-Worli Sea Link

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Permissions Required

The project requires various permissions, including Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance, land acquisition and traffic block management.

Estimated Cost

The project is estimated to cost Rs 7,765 crore.

Construction Details

The construction will involve the creation of a viaduct for vehicle access at the Eastern Freeway Orange Gate, open cuts and access roads on both sides of the corridor.

A left-side tunnel will pass beneath the seaway and resurface after B D Somani Chowk, prior to Wankhede Stadium.

The alignment includes cut-and-cover road, viaducts. The Tunnelling will be done using a Tunnel Boring Machine.

Benefits

Travel time will reduce between eastern and western parts of Mumbai, providing seamless connectivity to Marine Drive and the Eastern Freeway.

Congestion on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Road will be reduced as through traffic will use the tunnel. Travel time from the eastern freeway to the Marine drive in the existing condition is 30 minutes in peak hours, which will be reduced to 10 minutes after the commencement of the tunnel. It will also help in less carbon emission.

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The tunnel will be helpful to smoothen the traffic flow on the Sewri-Worli connector, MTHL, Eastern freeway, Bandra Worli Sea link and other proposed projects for connectivity from the western side of Mumbai to the eastern side of the city. South Mumbai traffic will also have faster connectivity to Navi Mumbai and other areas.

What the official have to say

Dr Sanjay Mukherjee, IAS, Commissioner of MMRDA, said, “The MMRDA is spearheading a range of ambitious projects aimed at enhancing the region’s transportation infrastructure and fostering overall development. These projects are meticulously planned to complement one another, effectively addressing traffic congestion and providing citizens with convenient transportation options.”

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