The Thane-Borivali Twin Tunnel Project Begins: Mumbai To House India’s largest Tunnel Road

Mumbai takes another big leap in terms of urban mobility. The journey between Thane and the Western Express Highway is going to be a breeze with the Thane-Borivali Twin Tunnel Project, easing the chronic traffic jams on this route and cutting the travel time down to just 15 minutes. Running beneath the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, the Thane-Borivali Twin Tunnel is the country’s longest and widest civil road tunnel project. Spanning approximately 11.85 km, this ambitious project will significantly truncate the long travel between the Thane city and the western suburb, contributing to fuel savings, pollution control, and higher commercial activities.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, often referred to as the state’s ‘Infra-Man,’ adopted this ambitious project early during his first government. The project proposal received initial approval and was launched in 2015. Although the subsequent period saw an infrastructure boom in the MMR by his government(s), the Twin-Tube project faced complexity due to several challenges. However, like in other projects, the consistent and concerted efforts by CM Fadnavis finally overcame them, securing clearances from environmental and wildlife boards and ensuring funding availability and the right kind of engineering solutions. The project is currently in its active excavation phase. India’s most powerful Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) ‘Nayak’ and ‘Arjuna’ have been deployed, and tunneling operations are underway beneath the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP). Read the detailed timeline of the project’s entire journey, from its conceptualization in 2015 to the commencement of actual drilling in 2026, featuring state-of-the-art technology and funding exceeding ₹16,600 crore.

Key Features of the Thane-Borivali Twin Tunnel Project

• The total length of the Thane-Borivali twin-tunnel project is 11.84 km, comprising a 10.25 km twin tunnel and a 1.59 km connecting road. The Twin-Tunnels will run 60 meters underneath the SGNP, keeping the wildlife above it completely unaffected.
• Currently, the journey from Thane to Borivali takes 1 to 1.5 hours; this tunnel will allow the distance to be covered in just 15 minutes.
  There will be two separate tunnels for traffic on this route, with each tunnel featuring three lanes (two traffic lanes and one emergency lane) and cross-passages every 300 meters.
• This route will connect Ghodbunder Road (Thane) to the Western Express Highway at Borivali, providing a solution to the Mumbai-Thane traffic congestion.
• Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) are being used to ensure there is no damage to the National Park or the environment.
• The tunnels will be equipped with modern amenities such as fire prevention systems, smoke detectors, and LED information boards.
  The estimated cost of this project is ₹16,600 crore.