Arjuna TBM Launched For Thane-Borivali Underground Twin Tunnel Project
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday launched the 'Arjuna' tunnel boring machine for the Thane-Borivali Twin Tunnel project, marking a key milestone in the construction of the underground road link.
The TBM-2 machine will excavate the second of the two underground road tunnels being built beneath the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Once completed, the twin tunnels are expected to cut the road distance between Thane and Borivali from roughly 23 kilometres to 11 kilometres, slashing journey times from nearly 90 minutes down to around 15 minutes. Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) officials estimate that approximately one lakh commuters will use the route daily.
The launch was part of a package of three major infrastructure projects inaugurated across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region on Thursday in the presence of Fadnavis, Shinde, and senior government officials. During the event, Fadnavis announced that new metro corridors spanning 60 to 70 kilometres are likely to become operational within the year as part of ongoing efforts to bolster regional mass transit.
Fadnavis stated that the state government is working to expand the carrying capacity of metro corridors across the MMR to nearly 70 lakh passengers, complementing the suburban railway network that currently handles approximately 90 lakh daily commuters.
Alongside the tunnel boring launch, authorities inaugurated the Metro Line 2B extension from Diamond Garden to Chembur Naka and opened the Chembur Metro station. MMRDA officials stated that connecting Line 2B to Chembur brings the corridor closer to existing monorail and suburban rail networks, establishing seamless multimodal interchanges. Travel times along the full Line 2B corridor are projected to drop by 50% to 75% compared to existing road travel conditions.
The event also marked the opening of the final 1.40-kilometre elevated stretch of the Santacruz Chembur Link Road (SCLR) extension between the Bharat Nagar Road-Mumbai University area and the Vakola junction, completing the 10.30-kilometre integrated SCLR corridor to the Western Express Highway. Officials noted that the link will ease chronic congestion across Kalina, Vakola, and Kalanagar while improving connectivity to the Bandra Kurla Complex and the airport.
Additionally, the 1.62-kilometre, four-lane BKC Connector Flyover was officially named after former Maharashtra chief minister Barrister Babasaheb Anantrao Bhosale.
