Underwater tunnel works of Mumbai’s coastal road project delayed
So far, the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) has only drilled 800 m, far less than the 2.072 km expected.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had flagged the construction on the coastal road project's southbound tunnel in January. It was expected to be finished by October of this year.
The Shiv Sena chief, along with Yuva Sena chief and Cabinet Minister Aaditya Thackeray, have been seen inaugurating various works carried out by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other agencies in the city, in preparation for civic elections expected early next year. The plan was to finish one tunnel before the election code of conduct took effect, in order to demonstrate to the city the ruling party's accomplishments.
Apart from sea reclamation and the construction of a sea wall, the Rs 12,000 crore project also includes two underwater tunnels, one southbound and one northbound. Both tunnels are approximately 2.072 km long. These tunnels will be one of the project's highlights, as they will be the first time work of this magnitude has been carried out in the country. TBM will be dismantled and re-installed and brought back to the Priyadarshini Garden work site for boring the second tunnel after the first tunnel is completed, which will take at least another two to three months.
This was supposed to happen early next year. There appears to be a chance of a delay now.
While only 80% of the sea wall work has been completed, nearly 90% of the reclamation work has been completed.
The total cost of Mumbai's Coastal Road Project is Rs 12 thousand crore.
Also read: Mumbai coastal road project 36% completed: BMC
Also read: Mumbai’s coastal road project: BMC completes 330 m of tunnelling work