Three features of Mumbai’s Coastal Road Project: State-of-the-art ventilation system

Soon after the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link road, Maximum City will soon see another pet project open for the public — a section of the Coastal Road project

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is gearing up for the partial opening of the Coastal Road Project having crossed a milestone: 84% of the major works on the 10.58 km-long project are now complete.

Mumbai, India. Jan 31,2024 - Marine Drive to Worli, 10.58 Km stretch of Mumbai Coastal Road open by around February month.This road will enable vehicles to travel at speeds of up to 80 km/h, although the design allows for speeds of 100 km/h. It is considered to be the most expensive project of the BMC yet. It will connect the Marine Drive area in south Mumbai to Kandivali, a western suburb, via the existing Bandra Worli Sea Link. Jan 31,2024. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

The stretch from Princess Street on Marine Drive to Baroda Palace at the Worli end of the Bandra Worli Sea Link (BWSL), which features twin tunnels that run under Girgaum Chowpatty, Tambe Chowk, Kilachand Garden, Malabar Hill reservoir, and Priyadarshini Park, will open in February.

For now, only motorists going southwards from Worli to Marine Drive will be allowed to use the road. The entry points will be from Bindu Madhav Thackeray Chowk, Worli, and Lotus Jetty near Haji Ali. Northbound motorists will still need to take the existing route northwards via Breach Candy for now.

The road is designed to allow for speeds of 100 km/hr although vehicles will be provided a maximum speed limit of 80 km/hr.

The construction on the bridge linking the coastal road with the BWSL will continue as planned — this is slated to finish by May and will connect Marine Drive (all of it) to the sea link.

MM Swami, chief engineer of the project said: “So far 84 percent of work is completed where the stretch from Marine Drive to Worli will be completed in February. The exact date isn't finalised for the partial opening of the Coastal Road.”

Here are three fascinating features of the project.

BEST bus bays for public

The fourth lane on Coastal Road will be reserved for BEST buses and emergency vehicles to facilitate public transportation efficiently. There will be 10 bus bays all along the stretch from Princess Street to BWSL.

"This road is set to feature 10 bus bays in all to offer accessible travel for those without a personal vehicle,” Swami said, adding that dedicated bus lanes from Marine Drive to Worli will also be available.

"One lane will be dedicated to bus and ambulance and emergency fire services all along the Coastal Road," he said.

Swami further added that in order to record accidents and other untoward incidents, the Coastal Road will have 24 CCTVs and 30 video incident recording systems with 80 emergency phone systems every 100 metres.

70 hectares of new open spaces

Citizens can look forward to accessing new open spaces and promenades on 70 hectares of land. Underground car parking lots that can accommodate 1,800 cars will also be provided.

The underground car parking spaces will be available in four places — Amarson's Garden, Haji Ali and two locations at Worli.

A 7.5km continuous promenade will run from Priyadarshani Park to Worli with gardens and cycling and jogging tracks as well as amusement parks and even open theatres. “There will be a butterfly park. We are developing 70 hectares. The green space will help reduce pollution and improve living conditions,” Swami said.

A total of 18 colonies of corals covering 0.252 sq metres were found in Worli and were successfully translocated 130 metres away from the project activity area. Corals on 0.11sqm in Haji Ali were translocated to an intertidal region of Navy Nagar in Colaba.

Saccardo ventilation system

The tunnels were bored by the country’s largest diameter tunnel boring machine (12.19 metres). They will have a unique Saccardo ventilation system, installed for the first time in the country. The system provides longitudinal airflow inside the tunnels — its nozzles supply external air by fans situated in a chamber outside the tunnel.

Both sides of the tunnel will have these nozzles, also known as ejectors, and will allow for better ventilation.

The equipment is housed in chambers near Priyadarshini Park for southbound traffic and near Girgaon Chowpatty for northbound traffic.

The Saccardo nozzles inject high-velocity jet streams into the tunnels and in emergency situations, like fire, can help remove pollutants or smoke from the tunnels, with speed. The fans are reversible to cater to ventilation requirements during maintenance or emergencies. The design life of these fans and associated control equipment is more than 50 years, officials said.