Four additional lanes of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link will open to traffic by March 24, instead of March 16 as scheduled earlier.

Motorists moving from South Mumbai to the suburbs can use the new lanes after March 24 as some final touches are yet to be given to the north carriageway.

It was not opened on Gudi Padwa as planned earlier. Some work like painting, signages, etc remains. It will be opened by March 24  according to the Minister of Public Works Department (public undertakings). The carriageway was to be commissioned by 2009 December but was delayed as work was behind schedule.

Now, the four lanes of the operational carriageway are divided into two each for north- and south-moving traffic, resulting in some accidents. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) is pinning its hopes on the carriageway to minimise accidents. There have been no accidents on the sea link for the last few months.

Source : www.indianexpress.com

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BWSL Bandra Worli Sea Link update - North carriageway of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL) is almost ready for use. This will ease the traffic on BWSl. Thousands of motorists who squeeze into BWSL’s current four lanes will be happy to get four more lanes on BWSL Bandra Worli Sea link.

The north carriageway constructed by Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) — contractor for the 4.7 km-long Bandra worli sea link has almost finished the construction and BWSL the north carriageway should be ready by the end of Fecruary 2010. The south-bound four lanes of the Bandra Worli Sea Link were opened in July last year.

Right now the BWSL Bandra Worli Sea Link is being utilized only 40% of its capacity but it is expected to get more traffic once the north carriageway is opened. Once the final touches are given to the BWSL Bandra Worli Sea Links north carriageway MSRDC will decide on the exact date for the opening of BWSL north carriageway.

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Bandra-Versova Coastal Link Project :The Bandra-Worli sea link managed to reduced some traffic chaos on city roads. Now the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) is to go ahead with its plan to design and build a 10.3-km long coastal link from Bandra to Versova.

Here is some Information on Bandra-Versova Coastal Link Project

Total Distance of Bandra-Versova Coastal Link - 10.3 km

Proposed Over ground portion of Bandra-Versova Coastal Link - 7.5 km

Proposed Underground Portion of Bandra-Versova Coastal Link  - 2.5 km

Bandra-Versova Coastal Link  will begin as an eight-lane extension of the existing Bandra-Worli Sea link

The Route of Bandra-Versova Coastal Link

-Will start Bandra-end of the existing sea links north-bound connector

-It will end at Versova from where connecting roads will be widened to offer connectivity to Western Express Highway

-A bridge from the existing Sea link will touch down close to Taj Lands End from where the coastal road will reach Juhu via Vile Parle

-The Juhu beach will have a cut-and-cover tunnel in which half of the tunnel will be under the beach and the covered glass roof will be at the level of the beach.

Cost Calculations

Rs 2,300 cr: For Coastal road and cut-and-cover tunnel (most preferred option so far)

Rs. 3,000 cr: Sea link all the way to Versova

Rs 2,500 cr: Part coastal road & part sea bridge

Other Bridges and Sea Links planned in Mumbai to reduce traffic

Worli-Haji Ali Sealink

Cost: Rs.1.120 crore (best cost)

Length: 3.3 km

Why its important: Once its ready, you can drive over the sea from Bandra to the door of South Mumbai.

Status: Work supposed to start in mid 2000, but it has not even begun. Reliance Infrastructure emerged as preferred bidder. But government has gone 197 days without a decision.

Haji Ali-Priyadarshini Park Sealink

Cost: Not calculated

Length: Not Calculated

Why its important : Will provide new access to South Mumbai from suburbs. Now, the 20 km trip takes 2 hours.

Status: A 10.9 km sea vvlink till Nariman Pint was scrapped as it would affect the view of the proposed mid-sea Shivaji memorial. Sate figuring out way ahead. Peddar Roads flyover could be stopgap arrangement.

Versova-Bandra Sealink

Cost: Rs 3,000 crore (approx)

Length: 10.1 km

Why its important:  50% of traffic going towards South Mumbai originates from suburbs beyond Bandra. This link will help you avoid crowded roads like SV Road and Western Express Highway.

Status: Preliminary report ready, evaluations in progress.

Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (Nhava-Sewri)

Cost: Over Rs.8,000 Crore

Length: 22 km

Why its important: 1962 study recommended ot as a means of connecting city with Navi Mumbai.

Status: Finally given a fillip in 2000,it got stuck because of the Ambani brothers face-off. Government decided it build it on its own. Centre has shown willingness to fund it and rope in private players.

Priyadarshini Park-Nariman Point Link

Cost: Not Calculated

Length: Not Calculated

Why its important: Will provide 8-lane access from suburbs to heart of the coty.

Status: Government undecided on how to kickstart it.




Bandra Worli sea link - Damage to the top layer in just 25 days. Bandra worli sea link is opened to public just 25 days ago and the hype over the Bandra Worli Sea Link is starting to wear off, so is the surface of the 5.6-km road.

The surface has started getting damaged with the top layer of bitumen, called the wearing course, coming off at several places. The deteriorating top layer is the first step towards pothole formation.

Bandra worli sea link road surface, laid down using Dutch technology, has been designed to withstand the monsoon and bear high-density traffic. In spite of that, uneven surfaces have appeared at a few spots on bandra worli sea link. More at the Worli-end, merely 25 days after the sea link was opened to traffic.

According to the Chief Engineer, Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, The surface is not cracking, It’s uneven at a few spots at the Worli-end. The polymer wearing course is coming off due to traction. They have asked the contractor to look into the matter and resurface it.

More photos, information on Bandra Worli sea link - click here

Car owners believe the amount of fuel saved makes BWSL a cheaper alternative to Mahim Causeway.The Rs 50 toll came into effect from Monday,  but city motorists continue to remain enthusiastic about the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. Many say that it is still cheaper to use the sea link than take the Mahim Causeway, the only other route to south Mumbai.

Actually the travel from Bandra to Worli on the Mahim Causeway in your car , you waste an hour’s time and two litres petrol worth Rs 97. This includes the time and fuel spent while idling at traffic signals. If you take the sea link, you pay only Rs 50 and I reach Worli in eight to 10 minutes. You save time and a lot of fuel and this is significant, with the recent increase in fuel prices.

While the Mahim Causeway route has 23 traffic signals between the Bandra-Worli stretch, the sea link has only four. During peak hours, a return journey via the Mahim Causeway will cost a car owener two hours and Rs 194 for four litres of petrol. On the other hand, a return journey on the sea link takes only 20 minutes. Adding the cost of a two-way toll (Rs 75) and one litre petrol (Rs 47.50), it comes up to only Rs 122.50. A car owner stills saves Rs 71.50.

Time saved

Travel time from Bandra to Worli on the Mahim Causeway route takes approximately 45 minutes during morning peak hours, and an hour in the evening, with vehicles crawling at an average speed of 20 kmph.

With BWSL, a motorist will save the time and fuel he spends idling in traffic jams and signals. A smart driver will drive the car at an optimum speed of 40-50 kmph on BWSL, switch off the engine while waiting at the signal and save fuel.

Well in the first five days when BWSL was toll free, the bridge saw a daily turnout of around one lakh motorists. However, after the toll came into effect, the traffic situation on the bridge, on the Western Express Highway and on Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan road improved tremendously.

More photos, information on Bandra Worli sea link - click here