Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link May Be Ready Before 2022 Deadline, Says Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray launched the first girder for the Mumbai Trans-Harbour link—the nation’s longest sea bridge to connect the city’s twin suburban Navi Mumbai.

The 22-kilometre bridge, connecting Sewri in mainland Mumbai to Nhava Sheva in Navi Mumbai, will be built on more than 10,000 girders—a compound structure used to build bridges. Nearly 16.5 km of it will run over the sea and rest over land.

“This is a very important project. I am happy that the work has started and going on at a good pace,” Thackeray told reporters at the launch in Sewri. “I have been told that the project might be completed before its deadline of 2022.”

Though this project was envisioned in 1960s, actual construction began only in March 2018. The Rs 17,000-crore project will be built in three packages—across the Mumbai Bay, including Sewri interchange; across the Mumbai Bay, including Shivaji Nagar interchange; and including interchanges at State Highway-54 and National Highway-4B near Chirle in Navi Mumbai—and by three contractors, according to the website of the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority.

Japan International Cooperation Agency will finance nearly 85 percent of this project.

The bridge is expected to cut travel time between south Mumbai and Navi Mumbai from two-and-a-half hours to less than 30 minutes, according to RA Rajeev, metropolitan commissioner at MMRDA. “So far, 20 percent of the project work is completed,” Rajeev, who was also present at the launch, said.