The Maharashtra government has decided to retain the flyover for visitors to see migratory birds including flamingos that frequent the Sewri mudflats. (Image: lntecc.com)
The Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL) bridge will be opened for traffic in November 2023, said Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on January 11. About 90 percent of civil work on project has been completed, PTI reported.
So, here’s all you need to know about the long-awaited project ahead of its public launch.
Expectations abound
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is the implementing authority, and the project is financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
MTHL is a six-lane, 22-km Bridge, which is touted as the “longest sea bridge in India”. It is expected to reduce travel distance between Sewri (Central Mumbai) and Chirle (Navi Mumbai) to 15-20 minutes. It is being built at a cost of over Rs 17,000 crore.
Notably, 16.5 km of the bridge length is over water and rest on land. Construction has been awarded to two consortia, including Larsen and Toubro and Tata Projects.
New tolling system
The bridge is expected to cater to 70,000 vehicles daily. Notably, MTHL will be the first to have an Open Road Tolling (ORT) system, as used in Singapore, officials of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) said.
ORT works by eliminating toll booths and instead having only a toll plaza which can identify passing vehicles and facilitate electronic collection of the toll amount. There is no need for cash of other payment devices on-hand. This will allow vehicles to use the bridge without needing to stop for toll.
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Construction going strong
As of January 11, the MMRDA has successfully launched the first longest Orthotropic Steel Deck (OSD) in package-2 of MTHL. The ODS is 180 metres long and weighs 2,300 metric tonnes.
The OSD is a steel deck superstructure that has lesser self-weight than concrete or composite. However, it will carry the vehicular load more efficiently and improve the load-carrying capacity of the bridge as compared to the concrete superstructure for a similar span, the release said.
Further, package-2 has 32 OSD spans, of which 15 have been launched and 90 percent of civil work on project has been completed.
The second longest ODS of package 1 (180 metres long and weighing 2,400 metric tonnes) was successfully launched on November 1, 2022. It weighs as much as six Boeing aircraft, MMRDA officials said. The first of similar size was launched in April 2022.
Mumbai to Pune in 90 minutes soon
A major long-term benefit expected of the MTHL is reduction in travel time between Mumbai and Pune. It is expected to cut down travel time between Lonavla, Khandala and Mumbai by 90 minutes.
At present roads in the Nhava Sheva area of Navi Mumbai are narrow leading to traffic snarls that vehicles spend 45 minutes negotiating during peak hours. Using the MTHL, vehicles can take a 1.5 km detour and bypass the car clogged areas.
For frequent Pune travellers, the P D’Mello Road-Freeway-Sion-Panvel Expressway-Mumbai-Pune Expressway route will likely change to the P D’Mello Road-Freeway (exit ahead of Sewri)-MTHL, onto Mumbai-Pune Expressway via Chirle passing by under-construction Navi Mumbai International Airport route.
Also Read | Maharashtra to retain temporary MTHL bridge for bird watching
Bird watchers rejoice
Birders now have a new destination in a deck that was built as a temporary bridge to facilitate the construction of MTHL. The Maharashtra government has decided to retain the flyover for visitors to see migratory birds including flamingos that frequent the Sewri mudflats. The 5.6 km bridge had been constructed to allow the movement of machinery and men during construction.
As per media reports, the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) commissioner S V R Srinivas said that the demolition of the temporary bridge would have cost the government a huge sum of money. The makeshift bridge was constructed in the vicinity of the Sewri mudflats, which is a coastal wetland, visited by two species of flamingos between November and May.
The Deputy Conservator of Forests of Mangrove Protection Cell, Neenu Somraj said a variety of birds visit the city and that the construction of the Trans Harbour Link has not disturbed their movement.
Environment concerns
Earlier, previous CM Uddhav Thackeray had sought to allay concerns of green activists by pointing out that the migratory Greater Flamingos are present along the ambitious project’s construction site.
Several activists have voiced their concerns about the project, which will be the longest bridge in India when completed, because of flamingo roosting that happens at the site every winter months, when the birds come to tropical climes to escape the Siberian cold.
“I had come to see the project because of the concerns. Now you can see there are flamingos on either side of the construction and also along the construction. I think both us and the birds have found a way to co-exist,” Thackeray told reporters here.
MMRDA additional commissioner Sanjay Khandare has also then assured that sufficient care was being taken through interventions like sound barriers, mufflers and ecologically sensitive lighting.
