The Mumbai Coastal Road Project (MCRP) will feature emergency cross passageways or exit points at regular intervals from Thadani Junction at Worli to Marine Lines, improving commuter safety. These corridors will be functional after the full structure is built.
A project engineer working on this coastal road said that these cross tunnels, which are thoughtfully positioned every 300 metres along the tunnel, are supposed to act as vital escape routes in case of emergency, enabling prompt rescue efforts without requiring travel over the whole length of the road. These routes will initially stay blocked and become operational only after the entire coastal road is fully accessible.
There will be 10 such cross-passages on the coastal road. The length of each cross passageway ranges from 11-15 metres along the stretch that connects Worli to Marine Drive. This allows for prompt rescue efforts in the event of an emergency. Certain passageways are intended to make it easier for cars to safely evacuate, while others are meant to make sure that pedestrians may leave as soon as possible in an emergency.
BMC Engineer Chandrakant Kadam, who has been working on the project since 2015, said that in the unlikely event that a car catches fire, the tunnel and its walls can resist exceptionally high temperatures. The tunnel's concrete lining is 375 mm thick. As an additional fire safety precaution, flame-resistant boards have been installed. Crash barriers will be positioned on both sides of the tunnel to improve vehicle safety.
Although the Coastal Road will be accessible to motorists by this year, the project's other features, which include a bike track, several amusement parks, and a 7.50-kilometre promenade, won't be finished until December 2025.
The first phase of the ambitious Mumbai Coastal Road Project (MCRP) is scheduled to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 19, according to an announcement made last week by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Senior authorities have stated that PM Modi will also lay the foundation stone for the Goregaon Mulund Link Road (GMLR) project.
Iqbal Singh Chahal, a state-appointed administrator and municipal commissioner, said that the southbound portion of the project will open to the public on February 20 after the inauguration.
“Meanwhile, by May 2024, we will be opening both lanes of the Coastal Road,” Chahal added.
The goal of the MCRP, which will link Marine Drive to the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, is to reduce the total travel time during peak hours from about an hour to just under ten minutes. The 2.07-kilometre twin tunnels, which begin close to Girgaon (ahead of Marine Drive), go north beneath the Arabian Sea, past Girgaon Chowpatty and Malabar Hill, and terminate at Breach Candy's Priyadarshini Park, are a crucial component of the 10.58-kilometre high-speed route.
Although the coastal road's first phase is nearly 84% ready, the bigger MCRP project calls for building a freeway to connect Marine Drive with Dahisar's suburban area.
Earlier, on January 8, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that the ongoing construction work on the Coastal Road would be completed by January 31, following which the stretch between Marine Drive and Worli would open to the public. In the meantime, in order to ease traffic during rush hour, civic officials have stated that the MCRP will only operate during the day at first.
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