The Orange Gate-Marine Drive tunnel, planned as a key east-west connector in south Mumbai, will end at Jawahar Bal Bhavan in Girgaon. With major hurdles cleared, the Rs 8,056 crore project will move into the construction phase, and the tunnel boring machine (TBM) is expected to start work on the tunnel construction soon.
How will the project help?
Starting at Orange Gate on the city’s east coast, the tunnel will pass beneath congested neighborhoods, heritage structures and even the underground Aqua Metro line before emerging above ground on the west coast near Marine Drive and Charni Road station.
Currently, vehicles traveling from the Eastern Highway heading south Bombay and the west coast must bypass traffic bottlenecks on P D’Mello Road, cross the railway tracks at Carnac Bridge (now Sindoor) and pass through the GPO junction. During peak hours, the approximately 5 km stretch takes between 25 and 30 minutes.
Once the tunnel is operational (expected for mid-to-late 2028), the same trip is expected to take about five minutes. The project will improve access from the Eastern Expressway to South Mumbai, the Coastal Highway and further west. Given the high cost, it is likely that a toll will be charged for the tunnel.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has been awarded the construction contract.
Alignment
From Orange Gate, the tunnel will descend and curve onto P D’Mello Road before running east-west under the Old Elphinstone Bridge at Chinch Bunder, railway tracks, JJ flyover, Bhendi Bazaar, Khetwadi and Lamington Road. It will then turn again to emerge near Jawahar Bal Bhavan, near Charni Road station on Marine Drive.
At its deepest point near Lamington Road, the tunnel will be around 47 meters underground. Including entry and exit ramps, the total length will be around 4 km.
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The project was originally planned as two separate tunnels for eastbound and westbound traffic. The eastbound tunnel was to start at Lamington Road, aligned with the Coastal Road tunnels, while the westbound tunnel was to exit at D Road near Wankhede Stadium after passing under at least 16 heritage buildings on Marine Drive.
After the Marine Drive Citizens Association raised safety concerns, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority approved a realignment in early December. As per the revised plan, both the tunnels will now enter and exit through Girgaon. Officials said the westbound tunnel will be shortened and the eastbound tunnel will be lengthened, with little change to the overall cost. The exact impact is yet to be calculated.
Timeline
On December 3, the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the tunnel boring machine at Orange Gate. According to MMRDA officials, the machine has already been assembled and excavation of the tunnel is expected to begin soon. A second TBM is scheduled to arrive later in 2026.
The official project deadline is December 2028.
Cost
8,056 crore
official speech
“While the Eastern Expressway allows citizens to reach South Mumbai from the eastern suburbs in 20 to 25 minutes, the subsequent traffic congestion adds another 30 to 45 minutes to the journey. Also, residents of the western and southern suburbs of Mumbai have to take a long and arduous route to reach the new Navi Mumbai airport. The Orange Gate Tunnel was conceived as the solution to this problem,” Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said during the launch of the tunnel boring machine