PM Modi to perform ‘bhoomi poojan’ for 2 underground twin tunnel projects

Of the two twin tunnels, one is the underground tunnel which is part of the ambitious Goregaon Mulund Link Road (GMLR) pegged at a cost of Rs 6,300 crore and is being constructed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), while the another project is the Thane-Borivali Twin Tunnel project whose cost has been pegged at Rs 19,257 crore and is being executed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

GMLR twin tunnels

While the entire GMLR will be 12.2 km long, the tunnels will be of 4.7 km each.

The depth of the tunnels would vary between 20 meters and 220 meters, depending on the topography and geology since it will pass beneath the SGNP and Aarey Forest.

The tunnels will be made by using a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) and will be equipped with advanced ventilation and lighting systems along with electric surveillance.

Civic officials said that the finishing diameter of the tunnels will be between 13 and15 meters, which will make it the country’s largest cylindrical tunnel.

At present, the country’s largest tunnel in terms of diameter is being constructed for the Mumbai Coastal Road Project (MCRP) which has a finishing diameter of 12 meters.

The two tunnels will run beneath the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) and the alignment will be almost identical.  The GMLR tunnel is set to connect Film City inside the Aarey Forest at western suburbs with Khindi Panda at Bhandup in the eastern suburbs.

The work order for this project was issued in July last year to NCC limited and J Kumar Infra, and the BMC is eyeing a 2028 deadline.

Thane Borivali twin tunnels

The 11.8 km long tunnels will also pass beneath the SGNP and connect Borivali in the western suburbs with Thane in the east. The project will bring down the distance between the two places by 12 km, which at present is 23 km long.

The tunnels are being constructed in two packages and the first package will cost Rs 7,178 crore, while the second package will cost Ra 5,879 crore.

The tunnels will have two vehicular carriageways and will have a diameter of 12.2 meters.

The work order for this entire project was issued to Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) last year and the project is expected to be completed within four years.