Drilling of first urban tunnel to finish next month

India’s first urban tunnel to be built within city limits and comprising two 500-metre tunnels is expected to be completed in September. The ten-metre high twin tunnels, being built for Mumbai’s Eastern Freeway Project, are being readied by blasting through the mountains near the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). They are a part of the Anik-Panjarpol Link Road (APLR) project which stretches from Anik in Wadala, central Mumbai, to Panjarpol in Chembur, a northern suburb of the city. The APLR, in turn, is a part of the larger Eastern Freeway project which connects south Mumbai to Ghatkopar, a north-eastern suburb of the city.