‘Trying to ensure no call drops in Coastal Road tunnel’

The Coastal Road tunnel, that connects Priyadarshini Park and Marine Lines, on Friday. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is ensuring that motorists using the Coastal Road tunnel in south Mumbai don't experience call drops. M M Swami, the project's chief engineer, said, "We are trying to make sure there's mobile network connectivity in the tunnel. We are in the process of talking to a technical expert. The tunnel, from Priyadarshini Park on Napean Sea Road to Marine Lines, is more than two kilometres long."

The tunnel has three lanes and can accommodate heavy vehicles such as buses. When this reporter visited the tunnel site at Priyadarshini Park recently, he learnt that there was no mobile network after venturing about 300 metres into the tunnel. According to an official, network connectivity is essential. "In an emergency, an in-tunnel mobile network is helpful. We have made sure there are all kinds of safety measures. Cross passages have been made at 300-metre intervals in the tunnel, which serve as emergency exits. The tunnel has a 375-mm-thick concrete cover and fire protection boards have been installed on it. "It also has a Saccardo system, which ensures there is enough ventilation and airflow even during fires," the official stated.

Why asphalt?

The BMC is spending around Rs 12,000 crore on the project and the 8-km stretch from Worli to Priyadarshini Park will be made of asphalt. The BMC adopted the policy of concreting roads last year. Explaining the reason for building an asphalt road, Swami said that this road was mainly made on reclaimed land. "It takes a few years for this kind of land to settle and the road may deteriorate during this period. Repairing a concrete road is costly and time-consuming compared to fixing an asphalt one. After 8-10 years, we can think about concreting the stretch," Swami said.

2 km
Length of tunnel