Mumbai’s Coastal Road was once again in the news after leakages were seen inside its undersea tunnels. A seepage was seen on Sunday morning and videos of the same have been widely shared on social media. This triggered safety concerns since Mumbai is yet to face the monsoon which often floods its roads.
What begged people to raise some hard questions was because the high-speed corridor, officially named the Dharamveer Swaraj Rakshak Chhatrapati Shambaji Mumbai Coastal Road, was inaugurated just months ago in March.
The work on this coastal road project commenced on October 13, 2018 and its estimated cost stands at around Rs 13,000 crore.
Maharashtra CM inspects seepage
After the reports of seepage hit the headlines, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, on Tuesday, inspected the leakages at the southbound tunnel at Marine Drive end. This is a part of the first phase of the coastal road.
In an interaction post the inspection, Shinde acknowledged leaks in two to three expansion joints of the coastal road, stating that they will be fixed using polymer grouting. He also recommended applying polymer grouting to all 25 joints on each side of the tunnel to prevent water seepage during the monsoon season.
The Chief Minister also said that the repair work will pose no hindrance to the traffic movement on the coastal road.
He also took X to inform people that the leakages posed no threat.
Mumbai coastal road second phase
Eknath Shinde also revealed that the second phase of the coastal road, which runs between Worli and Marine Drive, will be opened by June 10.
“This part will cater to northbound traffic between Haji Ali and Marine Drive, while the complete stretch of coastal road between Marine Drive and Sea Link will be carried out by October end this year,” Shinde added.
(With PTI inputs)