Gadkari plans Surat-Mumbai tunnel road

Mumbai, December 13, 2014

Speaking at a silver jubilee function of the Indian Institute of Bridge Engineers in Navi Mumbai on Friday, Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari said he wants to build an underground tunnel road to connect Mumbai and Surat.

According to Gadkari, a consultant will start working soon on this project which could involve cost of Rs. 90,000 crore.

The tunnel will be a faster alternative route for the existing four-lane national highway eight which covers a distance of 277 kms between the two cities.

It takes four to five hours to reach Surat by road from Mumbai. Traffic snarls on the busy road add to the commuters’ woes.

Tunnel road will save agricultural land acquisition cost and litigation associated with it. Earlier Gadkari was also exploring other option of Surat-Mumbai sea link+coastal highway to save land acquisition cost. He had ordered to stop land acquisition on Surat-Mumbai route for proposed expressway till the time experts could explore alternative posibilities.