Mumbai Coastal Road Tunnels Advance Towards Construction
Mumbai’s next major road-building phase is moving towards underground construction, with work underway at Charkop to create the launching shaft for twin tunnels linking Mindspace in Malad with Charkop in Kandivali. Components for the Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) are expected to reach the city by December, bringing Mumbai Coastal Road Phase Two closer to its tunnelling stage and adding a new north-south route to the city’s congested western suburbs. The twin tunnels form one of the most technically demanding sections of Mumbai Coastal Road Phase Two, which is planned as a 22.93-kilometre corridor between Versova and Dahisar. The wider project includes elevated sections, bridges and multiple interchanges intended to improve connections between neighbourhoods across the northern western suburbs.
At Charkop, excavation and piling have begun across a roughly 65-metre by 40-metre site where the launching shaft is being developed. The shaft will allow the large TBMs to be lowered below ground before excavation begins. The machines are planned to operate around 40 metres underground and have an external diameter of approximately 15.7 metres. The underground section will comprise two parallel tunnels, each designed to carry three lanes. Together, they will cover about 3.9 kilometres between Mindspace and Charkop. However, TBM excavation will account for around 3 kilometres of each tunnel, while approximately 700 metres will use the cut-and-cover method, in which an underground structure is built from the surface before being covered.
The construction timetable is significant because tunnelling is likely to become one of the project’s key execution milestones. A senior civic official indicated that assembly and preparation of the first machine will follow the arrival of its components, with excavation expected to begin thereafter. Assembly and excavation of the second tunnel are targeted for completion by June 2027. For commuters, the strategic value of Mumbai Coastal Road Phase Two will depend less on the tunnel itself than on how effectively it connects with existing roads, public transport and other planned infrastructure. A high-capacity road can redistribute traffic, but without efficient interchanges it can also shift congestion from one junction to another. There is also a broader urban trade-off. The northern coastal corridor is being developed alongside infrastructure that affects sensitive coastal and mangrove areas, making construction standards, drainage and environmental mitigation important to its long-term performance. Recent project updates indicate that environmental clearances and compensatory measures remain part of the development framework.
The Charkop shaft therefore marks more than a construction milestone. It is the point where planning for one of Mumbai’s largest underground road components begins translating into physical infrastructure. The next test will be whether tunnelling progresses on schedule while the wider corridor delivers safer, more reliable and better-integrated mobility.
