BMC has started assembling heavy machinery for two tunnels, which will be 12.2 metres wide
Reclamation work was completed in the lockdown. Pic/Ashish Raje
In a significant milestone in the Coastal Road project construction, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will start boring for the underwater tunnel by the end of December. The assembling of heavy machinery, weighing over 500 tonnes, has started. Even as BMC has completed land reclamation of 64 hectares, there are concerns over permissions for an additional 21 hectares from the Ministry of Environment and Forest for Climate Change.
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Work on the tunnel will be heavier than the work done for Metro III owing to a larger diameter of 12.2 metres.
The BMC will be constructing two tunnels of 2 km and three lanes each. The BMC claims that the tunnel will be the largest in the country. The work is also being monitored by Environment, Tourism and Protocol Minister Aaditya Thackeray, officials said.
The Coastal Road will start near Princess Street flyover and end at Priyadarshini Park. Pic/Suresh Karkera
Thackeray visited the project site last week. To cover the distance between Priyadarshini Park and the Princess Street flyover at Marine Drive, piling work for the tunnel's road is being done too.
A senior civic official associated with the project said, "The machinery is being assembled and launched in various phases. Once the launching is complete, we will be ready to test it by the end of next month and by mid-January, we aim to start the actual work on the underwater tunnel. Including the entry and exit, the road will measure 3.5 km, of which 2 km will be the two underground tunnels for north- and south-bound traffic."
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's pet project, the road originally required 90 hectares of reclamation but now needs another 21. However, civic officials are concerned that the current ties between the Sena, in power in the state and the BJP, in power at the Centre, might delay permissions for the additional reclamation.
The BMC will not be conducting new studies on the impact of reclamation on the environment as officials said that there is no change in the alignment. While the original plan had invited tremendous criticism from citizens and the Opposition, the BMC does not intend to invite suggestions for the additional reclamation of 21 hectares.
Also Read: Mumbai schools to stay shut till December 31 due to COVID-19: BMC
"We need the additional space for the road as there were small changes in the original plan and also for the construction of the sea wall. The proposal has been put up before the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA). We need these approvals by next year to be on track with the work and our follow-ups for the same are going on," a civic official said.
3.5km
Total length of the road from Princess Street flyover to Priyadarshini Park
90
Original land reclamation requirement in hectares
64
Land area (in hectares) reclaimed so far
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