The Mumbai police have imposed a speed limit on India's longest sea bridge to curb "danger, obstructions, and inconvenience to the public." Two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and tractors are restricted on the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), and the speed limit for four-wheelers will be 100 km/h.
The MTHL, also known as Atal Setu, named after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, will be inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi on January 12, the Chief Minister's Office has said. According to an official, vehicles like cars, taxis, light motor vehicles, minibuses, and two-axle buses will have a speed limit of 100 kilometres per hour. The speed will be restricted to 40 km/h on the ascent and descent of the bridge, he said.
The Rs 18,000-crore MTHL originates from Sewri in Mumbai and terminates at Nhava Sheva in Uran taluka in Raigad district. Multi-axle heavy vehicles, trucks, and buses heading towards Mumbai won't have an entry on the Eastern Freeway, he said. These vehicles will have to use the Mumbai Port-Sewri Exit (Exit 1C) and take the MBPT Road near 'Gadi Adda' for further movement, he said.
There will be no entry for vehicles like motorcycles, mopeds, three-wheelers, autos, tractors, animal-drawn vehicles, and slow-moving vehicles, he said. The MTHL is a 6-lane sea link, with 16.50 kilometres of the stretch on the sea and 5.5 km on land. Motorists will be able to cover the distance between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai in just 20 minutes, which otherwise takes 2 hours.