First undersea tunnels in India to open in Nov

DOWN UNDER IN MUMBAI

- PRATIP ACHARYA & SWEETY ADIMULAM

OVER TWO YEARS after 35 men and a big Chinese tunnel boring Machine began cutting though complex geological strata, India's first undersea twin tunnels in south Mumbai are close to completion.

Set to open in November, the tunnels start near Girgaon (ahead of Marine Drive), extend northwards under the Arabian Sea, Girgaon Chowpatty and Malabar Hill, and end at Breach Candy's Priyadarshini Park. The 2.07-km long tunnels are a part of the ₹12,721-crore Mumbai Coastal Road Project (MCRP) being built by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

The 10.58-km-long MCRP links Marine Drive to Bandra-Worli Sea Link and is just one part of the Coastal Road project. The high-speed coastal road aims to cut down the 45-minute commute from Girgaon to Worli during peak hours to just 10 minutes.

The tunnels, which have a diameter of 12.19 metres, run 17-20m below sea level. Nearly a 1-km stretch lies under the sea and the tunnels hit peak depth at Malabar Hill at 72 m. Resembling the shape of the Queen's Necklace the famous 'C'-shaped Marine Drive promenade - the tunnel entry and exit points will have fiberglass façades.