Mumbai: The leakages that appeared inside the Coastal Road tunnel were repaired on war - footing by Friday. Currently, there is no active spot inside the southbound tunnel, assured civic officials. The civic authorities have instructed Larsen and Toubro company (L & T) to use polymer grouting in all the 25 expansion joints in the tunnel. Meanwhile, the civic body has also clarified that the structure is absolutely safe and need not worry.
The municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, additional municipal commissioner Amit Saini and other senior officials inspected the repair work in the southbound tunnel on Friday. Saini said, "The leakages that were noticed have been stopped. Still, we will carry out detailed study of the southbound tunnel. We have instructed L & T to examine all the remaining expansion joints so that we can find a permanent solution to leakage. We have consulted tunnel experts who have assured us about the structural integrity, so there is no reason to worry."
Gagrani said," At present, work on five locations is complete, while one of them is still not completely dry. There are 25 such joints. We have told L & T to use polymer grouting in all of them. The structure is absolutely safe." A leakage started from a few points inside the tunnel last week. Water was seeping through the walls and ceiling, particularly at the southbound tunnel’s end near Princess Street Flyover. The chief minister, Eknath Shinde, immediately visited the spot and assured action to monitor and close all 25 points in both tunnels.
The 10.58-km Coastal Road is being constructed from the Princess Street flyover at Marine Drive to the southern end of Bandra Worli Sea Link. Twin tunnels have been built at a depth of 12 to 67 metres under Malabar Hill. The southbound tunnel started on March 12, while the northbound carriageway from Marine Drive upto Haji Ali is expected to be opened by June 10. The remaining part of the road upto Bandra Worli Sea Link will be completed by October 2024.
