MMRDA’s Anik Panjarpol Link Road project – an engineering marvel

Project has maximum technical and civil components
Mumbai October 15, 2010: The projects undertaken by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) not only createinfrastructure value but also work on solving many never attempted engineering puzzles. Among all its projects, the Anik Panjarpol Link Road is one of the most challenging projects in terms of technical and technological challenges, believe Mr Shriniwas Nandargikar, Chief Engineer, MMRDA.
According to Mr Nandargikar, Anik Panjarpol Link Road project is unique as it encompasses almost every kind of construction including normal bridges, subways, viaduct over a railway and a 500 meter tunnel. “This is a project with almost all components which makes it unique from other projects. Besides, it is the city’s first and only project with so many components. Tunnel construction is always a tricky job as we do not know what strata is available underground. There could be loose soil or hard rocks and that too can be known only while initiating works,” said Mr Nandargikar.
Finding solutions to such unforeseen problems remain a big challenge to the projects. “We have to just go on and counter whatever comes with appropriate remedial steps. In this case, we encountered loose soil and had to devise supports before proceeding further. We also conducted controlled blasting with extreme caution as the area was populated.”
Mr Dilip Kawathkar, Joint Project Director- (PR), MMRDA said, “Our other demanding tasks included acquisition of land from BARC, HPCL and BPCL. We also had to rehabilitate about 5,000 tenements including 30 religious structures and had to divert a pipeline of HPCL safely which carries aviation fuel.” The Anik Panjarpol Link Road was commenced in 2008 which is to be 5 km long, forming part of Eastern Freeway with flyover, bridges, subways and a tunnel. The project cost would be about Rs 221 crore.