Mumbai: PM Modi Lays Foundation For India’s Longest Urban Tunnel Between Borivali And Thane

Mumbai: On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid foundation for India’s longest and largest urban tunnel project between Thane and Borivali. The Rs. 16,000 crore Thane Borivali Twin tunnel project by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority will shorten the travel time by 1 hour and commuters will be able to reach from one end to other in just 12 minutes.

PM Modi attended the inauguration and groundbreaking ceremony of multiple infrastructure projects in Mumbai which amounted to Rs. 29,000 crores. Among the long list of infrastructure projects related to roads and rails, the Thane Borivali Twin Tunnel project was the most important as it aims to build a India’s longest and largest urban tunnel between Borivali and Thane at the cost of Rs. 16,600.40 crores.

The 11.8 km long twin tunnel will start from Thane side and end on national highway 8 at Borivali with two operational lanes and one emergency lane. The new tunnel will shorten the traveling distance from Thane to Borivali by 12 km and will save more than one hour of travel time as people will be able to complete their journey in 12 minutes. It will provide seamless East-West suburban connectivity and will ease traffic congestion on Ghodbundar Road and the Western Express Highway.

As the 11.8 km long twin tunnel will be the longest urban tunnel in the country, the bored length of this tunnel will be 10.25 km with cross passages for interconnection at intervals of 300 m. According to MMRDA, The project will utilize India’s longest tunnel boring machine.

MMRDA claims that the construction of twin tunnel will not harm the ecology of Sanjay Gandhi National Park and will help reduce air and noise pollution. The tunnel, which is targeted to be completed by May 2028, will reduce carbon emissions by 1,50,000 MT every year.

While laying the foundation of the project virtually, PM Modi said, “This project will prove to be better for the people of Mumbai in terms of connectivity. After completing the construction of Coastal Road and Atal Setu, the Borivali Thane tunnel is yet another way to facilitate connectivity in and around Mumbai.”