Before : toll                                         After : toll

As predicted, the need to pay a toll brought about a smooth drive on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link on Monday. Jams had been endless over the last week, with the ride toll-free.

Monday’s ride was, however, not quite as smooth on roads connecting to the link. This reporter took a cab from Bandra station at 8:53 am and after battling the usual chaos till Lucky Restaurant, reached the sea link toll booth at 9:05 am. The cab crossed over to Worli within four minutes, before the difficulties began.

After leaving the link, vehicles were directed to the junction of the old Passport Office, from where they turned to the Worli sea face route towards Atria Mall and then to Haji Ali, reaching the junction at 9:25 am. After the vehicles pass Haji Ali, Peddar Road is narrower and this causes jams. The Peddar Road journey finally ended near Babulnath Temple chowk at 9.41 am.

The Mahim Causeway journey from 10:20 am saw traffic get stuck at Worli Naka signal and crawl till Haji Ali via Atria Mall. Traffic from the sea link merged with that from the Causeway. The cab reached Haji Ali junction at 11.11 am and was stuck at the signal for four minutes. The narrow Peddar Road again proved troublesome and it took seven minutes from the junction to the end.

(source: Indian Express and photo source : Mid Day)

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The Bandra-Worli sealink was inaugurated on Tuesday, and it was a most memorable day for all Mumbaikars. Now, we all can race to the suburbs within an hour, but I wonder if there’ll be a bottleneck at the Bandra outlet and the Worli outlet. Just from Worli to Bandra in 8 minutes flat, that’s a record of sorts and the creator of the bridge, Mr Seshadri Sreenivasan, should be given all the support that we can give.  

Traffic is a problem we all encounter and all we can do is, grin and bear it. But this flyover is a novel concept that will relieve a lot of congestion and traffic on the Western Express Highway and SV Road. All congratulations to Mr Sreenivasan for this monumental achievement.  

He must have put in a lot of hard work and various factors like wind speed and wave lengths must have gone into building this bridge. The Bandra Worli sea-link is an architectural marvel and Bombay has got its internationally acclaimed monument. The bridge was supposed to have appeared ages ago, but nevertheless, better late than never! 

Bandra Reclamation is a delight for all Mumbaikars and this is another feather in the cap for all those who reside, not only in Bandra, but all of Mumbai. The Worli-Bandra sea-link will open up new avenues for development so badly needed in the city. Just like the JJ flyover, the bridge will provide a great respite to all the commuters in Mumbai. 

Now, we can visit Linking Road and other parts of Bandra and the Western suburbs easily. Many commuters will complain of the high toll, but I guess that’s just the price you have to pay for a comfortable ride. The bridge was resplendent in all its glory on the eve of its inauguration what with all the pyrotechnics and fireworks. 

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Despite the fact that over two lakh Mumbaikars living in the Western suburbs are open to the idea of using hovercrafts or catamarans to commute to Nariman Point, the MSRDC has done little to speed up the process. In fact, a number of officials with the MSRDC, who did not wish to be named, have said that the Rs 1,500 crore Passenger Water Transport (PWT) project between Borivli and Nariman Point has been deliberately delayed .

These same sources say that authorities have been dragging their feet over putting out PWT tenders so that Mumbaikars would be convinced of the need for a flyover at Pedder Road as well as the next phase of the sea link.

According to estimates, a PWT on the western waterfront can reduce the burden on our roads by over 50,000 vehicles a day. The Lee Associates in its recent comprehensive transportation survey revealed that over two lakh Mumbaikars were ready to travel daily by catamarans and hovercrafts. The PWT is the most viable alternate mode of transport for the city. Mumbaikars must question authorities for the delay as the project is being re-tendered for the third time.

People would have been willing to pay Rs 75-100 for a ticket. Had MSRDC gone ahead with the PWT, there would not have been a need for the Pedder Road Flyover.

However, the state government scrapped entire tendering process following legal issues and decided to start afresh. Meanwhile, the technical and financial feasibility study for the Pedder Road Flyover has allegedly been conducted. Both, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) have also assured the MSRDC that clearances for the bridge will be given.  

There is also talk of the MSRDC drawing up an alternative plan for a bridge over Tardeo and Nana Chowks instead of the proposed flyovers straight route via Cadbury Chowk and Kemps Corner .

PASSENGER WATER TRANSPORT

Point to point: From Borivli to Nariman Point and back

Mode of transport: Catamarans and hovercrafts

Cost of project: Rs1,600 cr

The idea of having a coastal water transport system was first introduced in the 1960s. In the early 90s a hovercraft service from Gateway to Navi Mumbai ran for over a year.

In January 2002, the state government gave the MSRDC the responsibility of setting up a water transport facility on the Western and Eastern coasts of the city

On April 4, 2005, the MSRDC finalized the details of the project

The next year, it floated tenders and gave the contract to Satyagiri Shipping Corp. Later MSRDC cancelled the deal stating that there were some problems with the contract and chose to issue fresh tenders for the project

The new date for submission of bids is September 30, 2009.

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The Bandra-Worli sea-link, which was thrown open for public, experienced a huge traffic snarls with vehicles moving at a snail’s pace on the bridge. There was a traffic congestion on the sea-link due to a speed breaker at Worli exit point. The four-wheelers slowed down when they arrived this point. A sharp turn and a lengthy divider at Worli were a few other reasons attributed for traffic jams. With no toll till July 5, the number of vehicles using this bridge would be huge and traffic snarls are expected to continue at both the ends. 

The Rs 1,600-crore (Rs 16 billion) Bandra-Worli sea-link, an alternative route to south Mumbai from the western suburbs, was inaugurated on Tuesday by Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

Many people travelled for the first time on the bridge enjoyed their ride. But they also complained that it took 35 minutes to pass the bridge. People thought it would be like any other express highway and we would enjoy a speed ride, watching the sea. The experience was pretty good. It took 35 minutes to reach Worli from Bandra, thanks to traffic.

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