12 January,2021 05:11 AM IST | Mumbai | Chetna Sadadekar
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray at the inauguration of the Tunnel Boring Machine
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday inaugurated the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), which the BMC claims is the largest in the country, for the ambitious Coastal Road project. The machine, named Malva, would bore two underwater tunnels between Priyadarshini Park and Chhota Chowpatty at Marine drive.
With the TBM launching on Monday, the civic body kick-started Package IV of the project, which mainly comprises the twin tunnels. The length of each tunnel is 2.07 km, and outer and inside diameters measure 12.19 meters and 11 meters, respectively.
The construction of both the tunnels is expected to take about 18 months, plus two to three months for the dismantling and reassembling of the country's largest TBM, said civic officials. After digging out the first tunnel, Malva will be dismantled at Chhota Chowpatty. Its parts will be brought back to the launching shaft at Priyadarshini Park and reassembled for boring the second tunnel.
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Vijay Nigot, chief engineer of the project, said, "The 80-meter-long machine weighs 2,275 metric tonnes, which is almost the size of a four-storey building. We cannot transport the whole thing. Moreover, there is no mechanism to reverse the machine." The two tunnels will be connected with 11 cross passages for emergency situations and each will have three lanes. The tunnels are being constructed 10-70 meters below the existing ground level, but motorists won't feel the change in depth, said officials. The BMC will set up an emergency control room.
Launching the event, Thackeray congratulated the civic body and praised its efforts. "Even during the pandemic, the BMC didn't let the project's progress slow down. So, I believe the civic body will be able to achieve the deadline for completion of work or even finish it before schedule. The beauty of this work is that no one would know that tunnels are being bored underground."
The CM also cleared the air about the work between Bandra and Malad - whether the BMC will build the Coastal Road project's north phase or a sea link. He said now they have planned a sea link ahead of Bandra.
