The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has initiated steps to execute the critical project of Borivali-Thane twin tunnel that will drastically reduce travel time between the two destinations.
For this, the construction of the twin-tunnel will commence before the onset of the monsoon, MMRDA officials stated. However, the delay in executing the project has led to its cost increasing by a few thousand crores.
Earlier this project work was supposed to be done by MSRDC, but Chief Minister Eknath Shinde handed it over to MMRDA.
It is pertinent to note that 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.
11.8 km-long subway
As per reports, this proposed project will have 11.8km 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.
The MMRDA has received Wildlife Clearance from the National Board for Wildlife. Now, environmental clearance is required to take the project forward.
MMRDA has set a four-year timeline to execute the project that will be 23m below the surface. There will be security cameras, speed cameras, smoke detectors, ventilation equipment, fire extinguishers, a lay-bay area, said MMRDA senior official.
Reduction in journey time
Once this is built beneath the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), the travel time will reduce to just around 15 minutes. Currently, it takes over an hour by road to cover the 24km distance from Magathane (Borivali) to Tikuji-Ni-Wadi (Thane).
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.
Costing of the project
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 INR 11,235 crores to over INR 13,200 crores.
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