Mumbai: Construction of the Borivali-Thane twin tunnel will commence before the onset of the monsoons, as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has initiated steps to execute this critical project that will drastically reduce travel time between the two destinations. The delay in executing the project has led to its cost increasing by a few thousand crores.
Currently, it takes over an hour by road to cover the 24km distance from Magathane (Borivali) to Tikuji-Ni-Wadi (Thane). Once this 11.84km-long road project is built beneath the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, the travel time will reduce to just around 15 minutes.
This proposed project will have 10.8km of twin tunnels and another kilometre of approach roads, on both ends (Thane and Borivali) combined. In all, a total of 23.68km of new road construction, along with a tunnel, will be done in the years to come.
As per the plans, the East-West connectivity project's alignment will be at Magathane's Ekta Nagar in Borivali and emerge next to Tikuji-Ni-Wadi at Manpada in Thane. Each of the tunnels will have three lanes (six in total), along with interconnecting tunnels for emergency purposes. The stalemate over the project's implementation has meant cost escalating from Rs11,235 crore to over Rs13,200 crore.
The MMRDA has received Wildlife Clearance from the National Board for Wildlife. Now, environmental clearance is required to take the project forward. “We have set a four year timeline to execute the project that will be 23m below the surface,” said an MMRDA official.
“There will be security cameras, speed cameras, smoke detectors, ventilation equipment, fire extinguishers, a lay-bay area, etc,” MMRDA Metropolitan Commissioner, SVR Srinivas said.
Other than this tunnel, the BMC has also floated a tender to construct the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road. This will be another East-West connectivity project to cross Sanjay Gandhi National Park.
Distance from Borivali to Thane: 24km
Proposed length of tunnel: 11.84km
Tunnel depth below surface: 23m
Cost: Rs13,200 cr
