BMC expedites underwater twin tunnels in Mumbai

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has fast-tracked the tunnelling work of the underwater twin tunnels and has completed 330 metres of tunnelling connecting 9.98-km Princess Street Flyover with Worli. The overall tunnelling work is expected to take 18 months and BMC has set a deadline of June 2022 for the completion of the work. The two tube twin tunnels will start run below Girgaum Chowpatty and come out at Priyadarshani Park. The twin tunnels are being built using the cut-the-cover construction method, wherein the actual tunnel would only be 1.9km, but after including the entire entry and exit portions, its length would run up to 3.4km. BMC informed that for the first time single-pillar technology is being used. This process of building three test columns has started on the beach near Worli and further construction of these columns is expected to be completed by the end of July. The coastal road is being built on 176 single pillars using a mono-pile system, wherein a single solid column is constructed from bottom to top, instead of a group pile, wherein there are four pillars under each.