Prime Minister Narendra Modi will perform Bhoomi Poojan for the Underground Twin Tunnel Project in Mumbai today. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is constructing these tunnels at a cost of around Rs 6,300 crore and will pass under the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP).
Officials said that the GMLR (Goregaon Mulund Link Road) will connect the Western Express Highway at Goregaon directly with the Eastern Express Highway at Mulund, making the journey less time consuming. At present it takes 85 to 90 minutes to complete a journey, but with the construction of this tunnel, the distance can be covered in just 20-25 minutes.
The stretch will provide the fourth major link between Mumbai’s north-eastern and north-western suburbs, giving the city another major infrastructure project.
This will be the second tunnel under SGNP. The second is the twin-tube tunnel proposed for the Borivali-Thane link road.
If we talk about the current status of GMLR link, there are different width roads from Eastern Express Highway to Khindipada Junction and from Western Express Highway to Film City in both directions.
However, the section between Film City and Khindipada Junction has been identified as the ‘missing link’. Now it will be connected by BMC through twin tunnels at a depth of 25-160 meters under SGNP hills.
According to the report, the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR) will have six lanes and will be approximately 13.25 km in length and 45.7 meters in width. A 4.70 km long twin tunnel section will be excavated through Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM).
Two water lines will be in each tunnel, which will be 1,800 mm diameter. It will carry drinking water from Bhandup Complex to the western suburbs. Apart from this, it will have advanced fire-fighting and fire-resistance, mechanical ventilation, control room, CCTV etc. Also, there will be special green corridors near the film city area, which will be a safe passage for wild animals.
The GMLR mega-project is likely to be completed in five years, officials said.
