Atal Setu Mumbai / PM inaugurates country's longest sea bridge - bridge will connect Mumbai-Navi Mumbai

Atal Setu Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated the country's longest sea-bridge Atal Setu. This bridge will connect Mumbai to Navi Mumbai. With this, the journey of two hours will be completed in 20 minutes. Modi had laid the foundation stone of this bridge in December 2016. The total cost of the bridge is Rs 17 thousand 843 crore. The 21.8 km long six-lane bridge is also known as Mumbai Trans Harbor Sea-Link (MTHL). 16.5 km portion of the bridge is on sea, while 5.5 km portion is on land. The capacity of this bridge is 70 thousand vehicles daily. At present, about 50 thousand vehicles are estimated to pass through the bridge every day.

The use of the bridge is estimated to save one crore liters of fuel every year. This is equivalent to fuel saved from 1 crore EVs daily. Apart from this, due to reduction in pollution level, about 25 thousand 680 metric tons of CO2 emissions will also be reduced.

1.78 lakh metric tonnes of steel and 5.04 lakh metric tonnes of cement have been used to build the bridge. 400 CCTV cameras have been installed on the bridge. Sound barriers and advanced lighting have been installed on the bridge for the safety of birds and marine creatures. The life of the bridge will be 100 years.

Connectivity between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai will be better

Till now, to go from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai, one had to pass through Sanpada Highway via Vashi route. This journey used to take at least 2 hours, but because of Atal Setu this journey will now be completed in 20 minutes. Apart from this, it will also take less time to travel from Mumbai to Pune, Goa and South India.

Atal Setu will pass over Sewri Mudflats, Peer Pau Jetty and Thane Creek channels. It will connect Sewri in Mumbai to Chirle in Navi Mumbai. At the Sewri end, MTHL will feature a three-level interchange to connect to the Sewri-Worli elevated corridor and the Eastern Freeway. At the Navi Mumbai end, the bridge will have interchanges at Shivaji Nagar and Chirle.

MTHL connectivity towards Navi Mumbai is at 3 locations: 1st – Shivaji Nagar Interchange towards Navi Mumbai, 2nd – Shivaji Nagar Interchange with Coastal Road, 3rd – Navi Mumbai International Airport and Jawahar Lal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT).

Ramp on SH-54 near Jasai: This will connect Panvel to Uran State Highway (SH-54). Interchange on National Highway 4B near Jasai – This interchange will connect Panvel, Uran and JNPT.

Bike-rickshaw ban, maximum speed of 4 wheeler 100 KMPH

Keeping in view the safety of the people, some important guidelines have also been issued. Under this, motorcycles, mopeds, three-wheelers, autos and tractors will not run on the bridge. The maximum speed of four-wheeler, mini bus and two-axle vehicle has been fixed at 100 kilometers per hour. The speed on the ascent and descent of the bridge will not exceed 40 kilometers per hour.

One-way toll on the bridge has been fixed at Rs 250 per car. The toll on both sides will be Rs 375 per car. The monthly pass will be 50 times the toll amount.

Noise barrier installed up to 8.5 KM stretch of the bridge

The bridge has been constructed at a height of 15 meters above sea level. For this, digging up to 47 meters deep in the seabed had to be done. There are sensitive areas like Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC), ONGC and JNPT around the bridge.

In view of this, noise barrier has been made in 8.5 KM stretch of the bridge and side barricading has been made in 6 KM stretch. Apart from this, sound barrier and advanced lighting has been done on the bridge for the safety of birds and marine creatures.

More than 5 thousand laborers and engineers worked daily

The first study about the bridge was done in 1962. Its feasibility report was prepared in 1994. However, even after this the work on the project remained stuck. Its tender was issued in 2006, but the work could not be done. In 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of this bridge.

Signed agreement with Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 2017. Work on this project started in April 2018. The deadline was fixed for August 2023. An average of 5,403 laborers and engineers worked daily to complete the project. 7 laborers also lost their lives during the construction of the bridge.