By Ashley Karen
Afcons, the infrastructure provider company, has achieved the fourth and final breakthrough on the twin-tubed Igatpuri Tunnel in Maharashtra, India’s widest tunnel. The tunnel, which is 8km long, is also the fourth-longest one in the country.
During the past two years, about 1,500 workers and 150 engineers have worked on the US$373m twin-tunnel projects. Each tube is 17.5m-wide and boring was done by using the NATM (New Austrian Tunneling Method).
The project is located on the Nashik Highway at Kasara Ghat, and forms part of the 700km Mumbai-Nagpur Super Communication Expressway, which has the purpose to reduce journey times between Mumbai and Nagpur from 14-15 hours to just 8-9 hours. Currently, trains on the route take about 11 hours to finish the journey.
The tunnel is anticipated to be operational in June 2022, with final lining due to start imminently
