India’s largest city, Mumbai, is gearing up to witness a dramatic transformation with the upcoming launch of the Mumbai Coastal Road, which is poised to be the most expensive project ever undertaken by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The Coastal Road project, with a budget of Rs-12,721 crore, aims to connect north and south Mumbai and significantly reduce travel time from over 40 minutes to just 12 minutes.
The project also includes the construction of the city’s first undersea tunnel, a 40-foot wide passage that will connect the prosperous Marine Drive to Bandra, and other infrastructure initiatives aimed at easing traffic congestion.
According to Mantayya Swami, Chief Engineer of the project, the Mumbai Coastal Road is currently 73% complete and expected to be finished by November 2023. While the tunnel connecting Marine Drive has been fully constructed, another tunnel linking Priyadarshani Park to Marine Drive is 93% complete.
Also Read: Mumbai Coastal Road Project Deadline Pushed to May 2024, Here’s Why
Although the project has received mixed reactions from residents of Mumbai, it is expected to make a significant impact on the city’s traffic conditions. Atul Kumar, a long-time resident of Marine Drive, welcomes the project and believes that it will bring a massive visual transformation to the city while reducing commute time. On the other hand, architect Shweta Wagh has expressed concerns about the irreversible damage to the coastal ecosystem due to extensive construction activity in the foreshore or nearshore areas.
However, Swami assures that the project’s extensive investigations were conducted to ensure that the reclamation project does not impact sea wave patterns. He states that a hydrodynamic model study was performed by the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) in Goa to analyze the project’s effects, and the findings indicated that the reclamation of 110 hectares would not alter sea wave patterns or sea rise levels. In consultation with the NIO, fixed levels for the seawall, promenade, and crown wall have been established to prevent any negative impact on storm surges, he explains.
The Mumbai Coastal Road project is poised to set an example for numerous Indian coastal cities grappling with exasperating traffic congestion. The speed at which it will be completed and enable drivers to traverse the sea between different corners of Mumbai remains to be seen.
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