Actor Amitabh Bachchan has posted a video of using a tunnel on the newly-inaugurated Coastal Road in Mumbai that connects Marine Drive and the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. He called the tunnel "a marvel" since it drastically cuts the travel time between the two points. The 10.8-km-long road has a two-kilometre-long tunnel between Priyadarshini Park and Marine Drive. Its first phase was inaugurated on March 11 by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde along with Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar. The work on the ambitious project started on October 13, 2018 and its projected cost is Rs 12,721 crore.
"Went first time in the TUNNEL - Enter before Haji Ali and out Half way to Marine Drive... a Marvel," Mr Bachchan said in his post, which he marked as T 4968.
The video amassed more than 50,000 views within minutes and users posted many comments on the post.
"I'm glad you liked it, sir! Mumbai's modern roadways truly are a marvel unlike any other. Thank you for sharing, love you @Srbachchan sir," commented one user.
"Thanks to Maharashtra Government and Nitin Gadkari ji," added another. "Try Atal Tunnel sir," commented a third person.
Regular route from Worli to Marine drive took anywhere between 40-50 minutes to in peak hour. But with the Coastal Road, the duration has been reduced to less than 10 minutes in the nearly 10-kilometre stretch.
Authorities have also implemented speed limit for vehicles stretching on the stretch. On the straight road, the speed limit is 80 kilometre per hour, which is reduced to 60 kmph inside the tunnel and at the turning points and entry/exit points, the speed limit announced for vehicles is 40 kmph.
A world-class Central Park, spread over 320 acres, will come up along the road, named 'Dharmaveer Sambhaji Maharaj Coastal Road', Mr Shinde had said earlier this month.
