Waterways to ferry material to build coastal road: BMC

The BMC, the nodal agency for the project, has identified five locations in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), from where construction material will be brought to various sites along the western coastline, using boats and ships

How many times have you been stuck in traffic because a heavy vehicle was blocking your way, carrying construction material for an upcoming infrastructure project? How many times wide roads you use have turned narrow, because part of them was being used to offload the material?

To avoid such problems during the building of the Nariman Point-Kandivli coastal road, the civic body has decided to use waterways to transport construction materials to the sites.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the nodal agency for the project, has identified five locations in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), from where construction material will be brought to various sites along the western coastline, using boats and ships.

The locations are Thane, Vasai, Bhiwandi, Panvel and Dighi.

“No construction material will be transported to construction sites using trucks or dumpers, so construction activities will not cause any inconvenience to traffic. We will use makeshift jetties and barges to download construction materials,” said SVR Srinivas, BMC additional commissioner.

The civic body has planned two tunnels – near Nariman point and near Juhu Beach – as part of the coastal road project. The rubble generated from the construction of the tunnels will be carried away through waterways and dumped at designated sites.

The fist tunnel will be constructed between Gen Jagannath Bhosle road to Nepean Sea road. The road will continue on stilts till Juhu, where it will go underground. The second tunnel will be built between Khardanda and Irla.

“Both tunnels will be constructed in order to keep Girgaum and Juhu beaches unaffected. They will be constructed about 11-metre below the seabed,” said Srinivas.

For take-off, the project needs amendment to the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) notification of 2011, which bans reclamation in CRZ-I areas.

Srinivas said the tenders for the project will be invited once the CRZ notification is amended.