Bandra-Worli Sea Link to be opened on June 30, inauguration by Sonia Gandhi
The Bandra-Worli Sea Link, an example of engineering marvel in India, which was one of the major element of the much-talked about Mumbai Makeover project, would be inaugurated on Tuesday.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Union Agriculture Minister and NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Chief Minister Ashok Chavan are among those who would be present at the function. As a matter of fact, Finance Minister Dilip Walse-Patil in his budget speech had assured that the bridge would be thrown open for public for the end of June and the Democratic Front government kept its promise.
The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) was the nodal agency for the project and the Hindustan Construction Company, a proven name in engineering and construction, has executed the project.
The sea link is expected to reduce the travel time from Bandra to Worli by at least 30 minutes. The 10-km distance by road now takes 45 minutes to an hour during peak hour traffic. With the commissioning of the 5.6 km Bandra-Worli Sea link, the distance would be covered in just seven minutes which otherwise used to take more than one hour to commute from Bandra to Worli by road.
The sea link begins at the Mahim Interchange at the northern end and joins Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan Road on the Worli Sea Face at the southern end. The link connects Bandra to Worli by 5.6 km long bridge. The eight-lane flyover would have capacity of carrying about 1.40 lakh cars per day. Large multi-axel vehicles and two-wheelers would not be allowed on the sea link. Speed limit would have to be maintained at 100 km/hr.
The sea link would consist of two cable-stayed bridges of 500 metres length. The cable-stayed design would allow free movement of the fishing boats.
They noted that the sea link would have a modern toll plaza of 16 lanes with automated toll collection system. The link is developed as an ‘Intelligent Bridge’ with state-of-the-art system for monitoring, surveillance, information guidance and emergency support.
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