Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray launched the first girder for the country’s longest sea-bridge, the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL). The girder weighs 1,000 tonnes and was set off by a 1,400-tonnes ‘launching girder’ marking the erection of the first span in the civilian works of the MTHL.
It is expected to be completed by 2022 and slash the travel time between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai from existing 100 minutes to 30 minutes. Estimated to cost around Rs 14,260 crore, it is being financed by a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The bridge is said to be 22 km long, of which 16.5 km will run in the sea making it the longest sea bridge in India, and second after the Bandra Worli Sea Link, that will connect the mainland with Sewri and Chirle. The MTHL will connect the new international airport coming up in Navi Mumbai, the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, the country’s first expressway, the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Mumbai-Goa Highway, providing faster access to north Maharashtra and southern India.