Coastal road work in fast lane, 100m tunneling done
The work is expected to be completed by the end of 2022; TBM Mawla is placed 20m under the ground, will pass through Malabar Hill up to Girgaum Chowpatty
MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) completed digging the first 100m for the coastal road tunnel. The work started from the Priyadarshini Park end on January 11 using a tunnel boring machine (TBM).
According to BMC, the tunnelling work is expected to be completed by the end of 2022. It includes two tunnels, taking the total tunnelling to 4.14km. The TBM, named ‘Mawla’, is placed 20m under the ground and will pass through Malabar Hill going up to Girgaum Chowpatty.
A BMC official said, “Once the TBM reaches chowpatty, it will again be placed in the opposite direction for digging the other side of the tunnel.”
The coastal road project measuring around 10km between Princess Street flyover and Worli-end of Bandra-worli sea link is expected to be ready by July 2023. The tunnelling work has been delayed, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, which initially delayed the delivery of the TBM from China. Also, the BMC had to tweak its plan to not use Chinese experts for the assembling
THE COASTAL ROAD PROJECT MEASURING AROUND 10KM BETWEEN PRINCESS STREET FLYOVER AND WORLIEND OF BANDRA-WORLI SEA LINK IS EXPECTED TO BE READY BY JULY 2023
of the TBM in the backdrop of border tensions between India and China.
According to BMC officials, the coastal road will save 70% travel time and 30% fuel.
Post-construction, motorists will be able to reach from Nariman Point to Worli within minutes. The coastal road project was originally planned between Nariman Point and Kandivli, claiming it will ease traffic for those travelling between north and south Mumbai. However, now there is a question whether there should be a coastal road or a sea link beyond Versova to connect to the suburbs. The state is yet to take a call on it.
MUMBAI: The contribution of road dust to the city’s overall pollution load has more than doubled over the past decade, reveals the interim results from a source apportionment study conducted by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI).
Select details from this study, which has not yet been finalised, were shared by Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) officials during an air pollution townhall organised by the state environment department on Tuesday.
Road dust largely refers to solid particles generated during the handling and processing of road-building materials, such as gravel and concrete. Turbulence generated by passing traffic, particularly in areas with high traffic volume, or where road surface erosion and tyre wear are high, also generates fugitive particles which become airborne.
Preliminary findings from NEERI’S study indicate that such pollutants make up 71% of all particulate matter pollution in Mumbai.
Of this, 45% comes from unpaved roads (which are more prone to erosion by wind) followed by paved surfaces, which contribute to 26% of the city’s dust load.
Another 8% comes from particulate matter emissions traced to construction activities, and 3% to vehicles.
The rest comes from industries, the domestic sector, aircraft, marine vessels, open eateries, bakeries, and crematoria.
This marks a significant upswing in the presence of road dust over the last 10 years. An earlier source apportionment study released in 2010, (also by NEERI) had found that road dust makes up only 31% of Mumbai’s particulate matter (PM) concentration - with paved and unpaved roads contributing 12% and 18% respectively.
MPCB officials said they are taking steps to address these findings.
“Road dust was earlier just a third of the total pollution load. This increase needs to be investigated. I have written a letter to NEERI asking them to conduct a detailed audit for identifying areas where road dust resuspension is a problem. They will start by surveying about 20 locations,” said Dr Sudhir Shrivastava, chairman, MPCB.
Officials, including Dr VM Motghare, joint director (air quality), MPCB, and Dr Rakesh Kumar, director, NEERI, confirmed that preliminary findings have been communicated to the Central Pollution Control Board.
“The audit will start any day now. A list of areas is being prepared,” said Kumar.