The Mumbai Coastal Road is one of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) most ambitious projects. The freeway built on reclaimed land is proposed to connect Marine Drive to Kandivali—a stretch of 29.5 km. For regular commuters, this means cutting on travel time and fewer traffic woes.
Image: Chandhar Kandalkar
The Coastal Road (South), with a stretch of 10.58 km, is being constructed by the BMC from the Princess Street flyover at Marine Drive to the Worli end of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. The project, which was flagged off in October 2018, has reached 56 per cent of the completion stage. The work was slowed down due to Covid-19 but gained momentum once the restrictions were lifted. The estimated cost of the mega project is around Rs 12,721-crore.
The Coastal Road project is quite a challenging one. It involves extending the promenade 50 to 70 meters into the sea. Apart from that, the road would also run under water through twin tunnels, one of the first in the country. The twin tunnels are being built between Priyadarshini Park to Girgaon Chowpatty. They will be under Malabar Hill and the Arabian Sea near the coast. The tunnel mining work took place in January, earlier this year, at Girgaon Chowpatty. A 2,800 tonnes tunnel boring machine (TBM), named Mavala, the biggest in the country, was deployed to dig the tunnels. The length of the tunnel is 2 km. The excavation for the second tunnel commenced in March. The reclamation work is 97 per cent complete.
Image: Chandhar Kandalkar
The road comprises eight lanes, a bridge on stilt, an elevated road and twin tunnels. It interchanges at Amarsons garden, Haji Ali and Worli Seaface. The interchange at Haji Ali is a multi-level structure so that the Coastal Road is accessible from any direction. The interchange has two arms that cross over each other at the height of 24 meters above sea level. The Breach Candy interchange has four ramps connecting to Warden Road.
The project aims to ease the traffic between South Mumbai and Western suburbs by cutting down 70 per cent of travel time and 34 per cent fuel consumption. Currently, the travel time between South Mumbai and Worli is around 40 minutes. It is expected to come down by eight to 11 minutes once phase one of the project is completed.
The BMC has taken measures to ensure that there's no water logging at Priyadarshini Park, Amarsons, Bhulabhai Desai Marg, and Worli.
Image: Chandhar Kandalkar
Other than easing traffic congestion, the reclamation will provide the city with some open space. Of 111 hectares, 23.5 hectares will be used for the construction of the road; 14.5 hectares for a wall to protect it from the harsh sea waves; 75.34 Lakh sq.ft. the area will be used for the construction of amenities for citizens. This includes jogging and cycling tracks, an underground parking lot with a capacity of 1,864 vehicles, parks, gardens, amphitheatres, and a butterfly garden. There are plans to plant indigenous trees along the tracks. There will be public toilets and seating arrangements as well.
The BMC is also constructing a 20-metre-wide and 8.5-km-long walking track along Coastal Road. It will be built from Worli to Priyadarshini Park, making it one of the longest seaside walking tracks in the city. The road will also have Mumbai’s first dedicated Bus Rapid Transport System.
The process of translocation of corals in the path of coastal roads is completed with help of experts from the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO).
The Coastal Road project is expected to reduce carbon footprint — around 1826 MT carbon dioxide annually. Despite facing several roadblocks since its initiation, the project is on track and is expected to be complete by the end of 2023.
(Chandhar Kandalkar is Chief Engineer, BMC, Coastal Road Department)
