India’s longest sea bridge - the 21.8-km Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) - will be inaugurated by prime minister Narendra Modi on January 12. The development was confirmed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday. It has been in the making since 2018. Originally expected to be completed in 4.5 years, the infrastructure project was delayed by eight months due to Covid-19 pandemic.
The toll rates remain undecided by the Maharashtra government but as per a TOI report, it may be fixed in the range of ₹250- ₹300 for passenger cars and may go higher for freight traffic.The Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) is expected to cater to 70,000 vehicles daily. Motorists can zoom past the bridge at the speed of 100 kmph.Build at the cost of ₹17,843 crore, the six-lane bridge is among the most expensive projects, the English Daily added. According to CM Shinde, it will help citizens cover a distance of 22 km in 15 minutes which now takes about two hours.
The bridge will reportedly be equipped with artificial intelligence cameras that will alert the control room about the breakdown in vehicles. This will reduce the congestion time as vehicles will not remain abandoned for long.The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is the implementing authority for the six-lane MTHL project, financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA