The Atal Setu, a 21.8-km long sea bridge connecting Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, opened to the public on Saturday, January 13. The bridge was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.
The toll for the bridge will be Rs 250 for cars, Rs 500 for SUVs, Rs 1,000 for trucks, and Rs 1,580 for buses. The toll will be waived for emergency vehicles, government vehicles, and vehicles carrying essential goods.
The bridge has six lanes, three on each side. The Eastern Freeway is connected to the bridge, and the Veera Desai-Andheri Link Road will be connected to the bridge in the future. This will allow passengers from South Mumbai and the western suburbs to travel to Navi Mumbai without having to cross the sea.
The bridge will also reduce the distance between Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra, including Goa, Pune, and Raigad.
The bridge has a number of safety features, including a dedicated emergency lane, an artificial intelligence-based traffic monitoring system with anti-crash barriers, and sound barriers to prevent birds from being disturbed.
On the other side of the bridge, there are interchanges at Shivajinagar, the Uran-Panvel state highway, and Chirle on the multi-modal corridor. This will allow vehicles from Navi Mumbai International Airport, the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Pune, or Goa to enter Mumbai.