The much-anticipated Mumbai Trans Harbour Sealink (MTHL), India's longest sea bridge, is slated to open to traffic on Friday, Jan. 12, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi officiating the inauguration.With a hefty toll of Rs 250 for a single journey, many find frequent travel financially daunting. Questions linger about whether this mega infrastructure endeavor aims to benefit the masses or only a privileged few.There is one interchange is at Sewri in South Mumbai, connecting MTHL to Eastern Freeway (Mumbai Side), second at Shivaji Nagar in Ulwe connecting MTHL to Navi Mumbai Coastal Road Project and the third at Chirle interchange — where one arm will connect the State Highway-54 and the second arm will connect NH4 Mumbai Pune Highway. The work of Navi Mumbai Coastal Road has just started.
Nitin Mane, who works at an export company and frequently commutes between JNPT and Western Suburb says that the MTHL is not going to serve his purposes as the link between Sewri and Worli will take time. However, he says that he will enjoy the joy ride by paying Rs 250 for one time.At present, the distance by road from Sewri to Chirle is 52km. The MTHL bridge over the sea will reduce the distance to 22 kms.Sunil Ramakrishnan, a resident of Ulwe who frequently visits South Mumbai as well as Western Suburbs for his work says that the sealink is good for going to South Mumbai. “I have clients both in South Mumbai and Western Suburbs. At present, I use either Sion-Panvel highway or Thane-Belapur road. I can use the MTLH for going to south Mumbai. But the toll is too high for going just one place,” said Ramakrishnan, adding that he will save Rs 200 on toll by going through Sion-Panvel highway and Freeway.
As per the MMRDA, the linking of Sewri to Worli will be completed by 2026. However, the time taken to complete MTHL, commuters doubt the timely completion of the project. Jitendra Gupta, a transport expert believes that the project's true impact will be evident within 15 days. “In the present scenario, the project seems to help only those travelling to South Mumbai and connecting the two ports--JNPT and Mumbai Port,” said Gupta, adding that even after reaching Sewri, the management of traffic will be important. “If someone in Mumbai wants to use the MTHL and spend hours in traffic to reach the sealink, the purpose of saving time and fuel will be lost,” he said. Interestingly, the suburban trains take 42 minutes from Nerul to Sewri and the inauguration of phase II of Nerul/Belapur-Uran has also been scheduled during the prime minister’s visit on January 12. Travel time from Kharkopar (Ulwe node) to Nerul is just 12 minutes. This suggests an economically viable alternative for commuters aiming to reach Sewri within an hour. Even those going to Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, the Sealink will not be helpful. Dinesh Jogi, another resident of Ulwe and works in Bandra says that he takes a train for his hometown in Rajasthan and this sealink will not be helpful even if he reaches Sewri within 20 minutes from Ulwe .