The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is expected to begin tunnel excavation for the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR) project this weekend, marking a significant milestone in one of Mumbai’s largest road infrastructure projects. The civic body has completed the assembly of the first Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) and is awaiting approval from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to formally launch tunnelling operations.
“We have completed the assembly of the first TBM and are aiming to launch it at the earliest. We have already written to the Chief Minister. Once we receive approval, we are hoping to begin as early as this weekend,” a senior official said.
Estimated to cost nearly Rs 14,000 crore, the GMLR project will create a direct east-west corridor between Goregaon and Mulund, connecting the western suburbs to the Eastern Express Highway through a 12.2-km route.
The project’s most technically challenging component is the 6.65-km twin tunnel, which will begin near Film City in Goregaon and pass beneath the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. The tunnel alignment will run below forested areas, hillocks and the Tulsi and Vihar lake catchment zones before emerging near Khindipada in Mulund.
Tunnel excavation will be carried out using two Japanese-manufactured Tunnel Boring Machines, the first consignments of which arrived in Mumbai in July 2025. Equipped with a rotating cutter head fitted with cutting tools, the TBMs are designed to bore through soil and rock while simultaneously supporting tunnel construction. Together, the two machines are expected to excavate around 4.45 km of the underground stretch.
The first TBM, positioned along the northern alignment, will construct the carriageway for vehicles travelling from Goregaon towards Mulund. Assembly of the second machine is currently in progress.
BMC officials said the two TBMs are likely to be named Tulsi and Vihar, after Mumbai’s drinking water lakes located close to the tunnel alignment. A proposal seeking approval from Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide has already been submitted.
The 12.2-km GMLR project is being executed in four phases. The initial phase involves road widening, followed by flyover construction in the western suburbs and the twin-tunnel excavation. Subsequent phases include the construction of a road-over-bridge at Nahur and an elevated flyover with cloverleaf interchanges extending towards Airoli.
Scheduled for completion by 2028, the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road is expected to significantly improve east-west connectivity, reduce travel time between Mumbai’s eastern and western suburbs, and ease congestion on existing arterial roads.
Source: The Indian Express
