Fresh seepage surfaces in Coastal Road tunnel amid heavy rain; BMC says structure safe

2 min readMumbaiUpdated: Jul 6, 2026 09:54 PM IST

Built at a cost of Rs 5,821 crore, the twin tunnels account for nearly 35 per cent of the Rs 16,621 crore Mumbai Coastal Road project. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty

Amid relentless monsoon rain that has battered Mumbai and exposed weaknesses in the city’s infrastructure, water seepage was reported in the northbound tunnel of the Mumbai Coastal Road on Sunday, prompting the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to carry out emergency repairs.

The seepage was detected near Priyadarshini Park in the northbound tunnel, which carries traffic from Marine Drive towards Bandra. Motorists noticed water dripping from the tunnel wall, following which BMC maintenance teams rushed to the site.

Officials said the leak was plugged within hours using pressure injection grouting, a standard waterproofing technique for underground infrastructure. The tunnel remained open to traffic throughout the repair work.

“The tunnel is structurally safe and is under continuous monitoring,” a civic official said.

Built at a cost of Rs 5,821 crore, the twin tunnels account for nearly 35 per cent of the Rs 16,621-crore Mumbai Coastal Road project.

BMC engineers said minor seepage is not uncommon in underground tunnels along the coastline, particularly during spells of intense rainfall when hydrostatic pressure increases. They said limited water ingress through construction or expansion joints is permissible under international engineering standards and is addressed through routine maintenance.

The latest incident comes as Mumbai’s transport infrastructure has come under severe strain from incessant rain, with road cave-ins, waterlogging, railway disruptions and the partial collapse of a section of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway Missing Link project raising concerns over the resilience of recently built infrastructure.

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This is the second reported instance of seepage since the Coastal Road tunnels opened. In May 2024, water seeped through two expansion joints in the southbound tunnel shortly after its inauguration, following which the BMC carried out similar repair work.