Daylighting and excavation work to be completed today; work on the second tunnel will begin in April and is expected to be over by end of 2022
With the completion of the first tunnel, about 50pc of the work on the Coastal Road is complete
The daylighting of the tunnel between Priyadarshini Park and Girgaon Chowpatty will be completed on Monday, said civic officials. The BMC is constructing 2.07-km twin tunnels as part of the Coastal Road, and the excavation of one of them will be completed today.
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Vijay Nighot, chief engineer of the Coastal Road project, said that the tunnel boring machine will be dismantled and then assembled for the construction of the second tunnel, which will start in April. The work is expected to be completed by December 2022, he added. The twin tunnels are being built at a depth of 10 metres to 70 metres underground.
“The construction work of the first tunnel was started on January 11, 2021, at Priyadarshini Park. The 1-km phase of the tunnel was completed in nine months, and the remaining part on December 29, 2021. The Covid-19 second wave and the monsoon had caused the delay,” said Nighot. Each tunnel is 12.19 metres in diameter, and 11 cross tunnels will connect the two main ones that will be fitted with the 'Scardo' ventilation system.
The 10.58-km Coastal Road is being constructed from Princes Street flyover to the southern end of Bandra-Worli Sea Bridge (Sea Link). The project includes 4+4 lanes, bridges, elevated roads and tunnels. About 50 per cent of the work has been completed, and the Coastal Road is expected to be ready by December 2023. The BMC started the construction work in December 2018, and the total cost, including taxes and charges, was projected to be R12,000 crore. However, the consultant charge has increased.
The BMC spent R1,500 crore in the past financial year, and allocated R2,000 crore in the current fiscal year. Out of the R2,000 crore, R1,997 crore was spent till December-end. Thereafter, R500 crore was transferred from the development fund, for the payment of bills of contractors and consultants.
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